The Cold Side of the Flame
by HeartlessAngel96
Summary: Natsu has sacrificed himself at Tenrou Island to save his friends from the Dragon of Apacolyspe, Acnologia. Seven years later, the grand magic games are around the corner and and two new guilds, Phoenix Wing and Crimson Claw are going to show off the strength. A source of dark magic is felt there ever year, but why does it feel like Natsu's power if he is dead? (first fanfic)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Fall of a Friend

"Natsu, don't you dare go through with this!" Gray yelled.

Natsu's body started to ignite its flames.

"NATSU, DON'T DO IT!"

"I'm sorry. It's the only way"

Tears started to flow down cheeks. Grimore Heart, the strongest dark guild had invaded Tenrou Island, but like all villains, they were defeated by the infamous guild, Fairy Tail. However this resulted in the conclusion of S-Class trials that were taken place. Just as the group was about to leave, Acnologia, the dragon of apocalypse had awakened from its slumber and attacked Tenrou Island. The mages fought valiantly but, were not strong enough to defeat the beast. Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon slayer A.K.A. Salamander was the only one capable of holding the dragon at bay. It still wasn't enough to stop the dragon so Natsu had one way to win but, at a price that no one else agreed with.

"Natsu I swear if you go I'll-", Erza was cut off

"This is the only way to stop Acnologia! Why don't you come up with something!"

Out of nowhere, Lisanna ran up to Natsu and hugged him from behind ignoring the fact that his body was still in flames.

"Natsu Please don't go. I'll do anything just please…PLEASE DON'T GO!" she said with tears in her eyes.

Natsu turned around and unwrapped his scarf around his neck and gave it to Lisanna.

"Forgive me…Lisanna"

With that, Natsu kissed Lisanna on the cheek and walked slowly to the dragon.

"Natsu, NATSU PLEASE!" Lisanna yelled as she ran towards the dragon slayer with the scarf tightly in her hand only to be stopped by Gray.

"YOU"RE GOING TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!" Natsu yelled as he latched on to the dragon

"RWARRRRRRR", the dragon yelled trying to shake Natsu off.

"Goodbye…Fairy Tail", Natsu then cast a spell forbidden among dragon slayers.

"Fire Dragon's…OBLIVION!

An explosion shook the island, causing everyone to duck for cover. After a minute, the dust cleared and the dragon slayer was gone.

"N-n-n-no, it c-c-can't be..." Erza's voice trembled as she fell to her knees. The rest of the guild went wide-eyed with tears at what they just witnessed. Lisanna yelled the name of her beloved's name, as if it would help though.

"NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

* * *

The surviving Fairy Tail members had returned to Magnolia and told rest of the members at the guild the horrible news. Everybody broke out into tears. Lisanna and Happy ran out of the guild hall and never looked back. She had never been so hurt in her life since her parents died. Now she had lost Natsu twice in her lifetime. One was to Edo-Lucy, and now because of Acnologia. It started to rain hard, but she didn't care. Lisanna ran full-throttle towards the little house she and Natsu built to raise happy in. She hid herself inside and Happy followed her and cuddled into his 'mother's' chest.

"Natsu I knew you would do anything to protect your friends but did it have to come to this?"

"N-N-Natsu", Happy whispered as he pressed his head into Lisanna's chest

"Please, come back to Happy, come back to the guild…come back to me".

H-h-h-he's not coming back Lisanna, we have to accept it"

Lisanna held Happy tightly while holding Natsu's scarf. "Natsu…"

Later…

Fairy Tail held a funeral for the dragon slayer. Guild mates were crying left and right, mourning their lost friend. Makarov began his speech. "Natsu Dragneel was a man of courage, strength, love, and hope. He had absolute faith in the guild, and his comrades. His voice started to tremble. "H-he was always f-full of hope, always striving to get stronger, always looking for a new challenge, and putting people before him was his main priority. He started to tear up. "F-Fairy Tail's name comes from the question whether fairies have tails or not. Because it is a mystery, we will never know. Makarov finally broke down. "Natsu Dragneel, the reason we still stand will always be remembered in Fairy Tail-l-l-l-l". He short master whispered as his emotions took over.

Makarov wasn't the only one who was suffering this much. Mirajane Strauss, Fairy Tail's bartender also known as the 'Demon of Fairy Tail' was crying like no tomorrow while her younger yet, tall brother, Elfman Strauss held her tightly. She wasn't sure if she could get over not being able to see the toothy grin everyday. Though she was heartbroken when Lisanna 'died' two years ago, Natsu's death hit her like a stone to the head. Even though she used to bully Natsu when they were kids, she mostly did it due to having a small crush on him. She always a smile on her face but now it's like she forgot how to. As time went by, that small crush turn into romantic feelings towards the pink-haired slayer. All that changed when Lisanna had passed. Natsu had found out that Mira was the one blaming herself for her younger sister's death. Natsu ordered her to stop because it wasn't anyone's fault why she died. He even told her that he too blamed himself for her death but went back on it for Lisanna would have not wanted that. At that moment, her feelings for him magnified. She kept it a secret however since she knew Lisanna loved him more than anything and she didn't want to hurt her little sister. The only thing she could do was mourn her beloved's death.

The rest of Natsu's team was taking it just as worse than Lisanna. Gray Fullbuster, rival and best friend of Natsu couldn't believe what had happened. "Y-you idiot", he whispered as a tear fell down his eyes.

"Why, why did it have to come to this", Lucy Heartfilia whispered while looking down to the floor with tears in her eyes.

"Gray-Sama, I'm sorry", Juvia Lockser said as she rested her head on the ice mage's shoulder. Though she wasn't as close to Natsu as Gray was, it still hurt her to see him gone and Gray to be in pain.

"H-h-he's gone Lu-Chan. We just h-have to accept it", Levy McGarden muttered through tears as she held Lucy in a hug. She always looked at Natsu as a big brother since he was always over protective of her. Having to see her 'brother' sacrifice his life to protect her and his friends will haunt her forever.

Erza Scarlet, A.K.A. Titania was suffering more than anyone else on Natsu's team. She always saw Natsu as the reason why the guild was so lively and happy (despite the fights he would start.) As time went by, she started to see him as more than a friend. After all the way he challenges her, saving her, and protecting her, how could she not. Then when the new magic council came to take her childhood friend Jellal Fernadez away after he helped them stop Nirvana, he fought to prevent him from going to prison, he fought not to keep her from crying, but to make her happy. She fell for the dragon slayer even more now her heart was hurting to see him disappear right in front of her eyes. "N-N-Natsu…please come back to us", her hair was covering her face but, it was obvious she crying. The news struck the Kingdom of Fiore. For one of the most powerful wizards in the kingdom was gone. Gone forever. This had become the saddest day in Fairy Tail history.

(To Be Continued...)

* * *

**Phew, first chapter done. This is my first fanfic so please criticize kindly. I'm trying to doing a small harem with the following:**

**Lisanna (she is the main girl)  
**

**Mirajane**

**Wendy**

**Erza**

**If you're asking about Lucy…NO! I freakin' hate Lucy. She's all over the place and not enough NaLi on this site either. This story will start out slow but will hopefully get better towards the end so please bear with me. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter in not, then I'm sorry I'll try harder next time. Also characters will be OOC (especially Natsu and Lisanna). I will also have OC in this story too. Until next time. **

**-HeartlessAngel96 **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Seven Years Later

Seven years has passed since the Tenrou Island incident. Seven whole years since their hearts and souls were broken. They lost their will to fight and the guild remained quiet most of the time. A few fights would break out between Gray and Gajeel Redfox, the iron dragon slayer from time to time, other then that, Fairy Tail just wasn't the same without that pink-haired idiot. Due to financial problems, the guild building was demolished so Fairy Tail had to rebuild a smaller guild on the top a hill right outside of the town. Soon after, Fairy Tail was known as the weakest guild in Fiore. Most of its members left due to the guild's bad reputation. The loyal, remaining members had gone through some changes. Maeco and Wakaba had grown older as they did. Max, Laki, kinana, Nab, Warren and the others matured a lot. Romeo, Maeco's son had grown into a healthy young man was officially a member of the guild. Alzack and Bisca got married and had a daughter named Asuka. The group from Tenrou Island had somewhat changed. Gray, Erza, Lucy, Mira, Lisanna, Cana, and Elfman didn't look too different in fact they still looked somewhat the same as they did seven years ago. Levy's hair had gotten a little short, but still looked the same. Lisanna's hair changed as well, her hair a little longer than it was. Gajeel looked maybe two years older and had cut his hair somewhat short, Laxus Dreyar now once again a member of Fairy Tail after being exiled and his Thunder God Tribe had definitely aged. Laxus now in his 30's looked somewhat the same but with maturing facial expressions.

"Mira, I'm going out for a job", the raven-haired mage said as he gave a job request for Mira to stamp.

"Okay, be careful", she added. Gray nodded and walked off.

Oh wait Gray, one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"I haven't seen Erza. Any idea where they are?" Lucy,Wendy and Carla, Wendy's exceed and childhood friend had just walked into the guild and heard Mira's question.

"Erza locked herself in her room. She said she would come by later. Out of nowhere, Gajeel came out and punched Gray in the back of the head.

"Yo ice breath, where're going?" the iron dragon slayer asked.

"Oww! What the hell scrap for brains, why'd you hit me?!" the ice mage snapped back

"Because I wanted to. Now where're you heading to?"

"On a mission, why? You're gonna miss me? That's so sweet",

"Like hell I'd miss you. Who would care if you came back anyway", the ice mage simply sighed at the insult.

"Gajeel, stop picking on Gray", Levy shouted from the back of the guild.

"Yeah Gajeel, go pick on somebody else"

"Shut up, stripper"

"What'd you say? You wanna go iron head?

"Bring it on!"

"Gajeel, don't start any fights," Panther Lily, Gajeel's exceed and close friend said

"Gray-Sama, your clothes", Juvia told her Beloved

"Ugh, Males and their fighting habits", Carla said in disgust.

Mira couldn't help but laugh as the two mages started a brawl. Out of nowhere two iron fists appeared and hit both boys on the head.

"ENOUGH!"

"E-E-Erza!" Lucy shuddered with fear, as did the rest of the guild.

* * *

Meanwhile at Magnolia park, at young woman with silky-silver hair was lying down on the soft green grass with her blue feline adopted son, lying next to her.

"Lisanna?"

"Yeah, what is it sweetie?"

"You're awfully quiet. What were you thinking about just now?" the blue exceed asked his 'mother'

"Oh…I…was just thinking of how Natsu would think of us if he saw how weak we are right now"

"Don't say that! Natsu would never look down on us!" Happy shouted as he shot up from lying down. Lisanna stayed silent. She felt guilty when she said that. Deep down she knew Natsu would think like that but she said this because after seven years, she couldn't get over the fact she wasn't able to stop him from sacrificing himself for the others. "Lisanna really…how much did you love Natsu?" Lisanna wasn't expecting this from everyone, especially from Happy.

"Please Happy…don't make answer this", she responded as she turned around so she can hide her face.

"Lisanna please…I have to know"

"…"

"Lisanna…?"

"…I've loved Natsu since the day I laid my eyes on him. I would even daydream of the both of us ending up married, in a little house on a hill, with a little boy or girl. Throughout the years, I really thought that we had something going on. Then everything changed when I went on that mission with Mira-Nee and Elf-Nee. Mira-Nee said that when he heard about my 'death', he was heartbroken.

"I know", Happy said

"Huh?"

"When he heard about you, he heard about you, he stormed off towards the little house you guys build and…he burst into tears and his power went out of control but the only thing is…his flames were black and some type of black marks started to appear on his body.

"What?" Lisanna was nervous when she heard "black flames".

"Remember that blood stain next to the entrance?"

"Yeah?"

"That stain…was from…him punching the floor out of anger and he…blamed himself for your death. I've never seen him cry so much. Your death was worse than Igneel leaving him. But that wasn't even the case he wasn't crying tears, blood was pouring from his eyes".

Lisanna felt guilty for saying what she said but taking in this new information about Natsu's reaction to her death was too much to take. Behind that big, toothy smile lied an unbelievable pain that never healed. She knew everybody at Fairy Tail was hurt but she didn't expect Natsu to have his heart and willpower broken so badly. Lisanna took the crying exceed and held him tightly in her arms. "Shh. Listen Happy, I'm sorry for saying those things earlier. It's just that, I felt so useless when Natsu went on to fight Acnologia. I was so scared that I couldn't even move. And…and", Lisanna started to choke with tears. "When Natsu said what he was going to do, I didn't know how to respond",

"It's okay Lisanna. Just promise me that you won't say that again".

"Yeah, I promise", Lisanna said as she wiped the tears away from her 'son's' face. "Come on, let's head back, we have to go to the flower shop as well".

"You know I completely forgot that you were wearing his scarf today"

"heh, let's go", Ever since Natsu's death, Lisanna had been wearing his scarf everyday and never really took it off. Unknown to both Lisanna and Happy, two figures watched them deeply until they were out of sight.

"He was right, she really is cute", a male voice pointed out.

"Hmph, she's not that cute", the female protested.

"Ooooh, someone's jealous"

"S-stop teasing me big brother!" the female shouted while blushing like a mad person. "Still, do you think that he'll be happy to hear that the guild is still functioning?"

"I don't know. With all the things that took place in the last two years, I wonder if he'll even see this as a good thing. Come on let's head back. I have another mission to do before lunch".

"Right", a blur of black and blue flashed by and left Magnolia.

* * *

Meanwhile at the guild…

"GRAY, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, CANA, DRINK OUT OF A MUG, WAKABA, STOP FLIRTING WITH MIRA, GAJEEL, STOP EATING THE GUILD 'S SILVERWARE, THE REST OF YOU, CLEAN UP!"

"YES MA'AM!" the whole guild shouted in fear as they did what Erza ordered.

"Now now, there's no need to be so hard on them Erza", Mira said trying to calm the armored mage down. Footsteps started to make their way to the guild entrance.

"Well well well, look what we got here. Looks more like a friendship club", a voice said behind Erza.

"What do YOU want?" ever since Fairy Tail became what they are now a new guild, Twilight Ogre formed and offered the guild protection and loaned them money to rebuild their guild and in return, Ogre get paid back but, since their payment wasn't always on time. They would come in the guild and trash up the place. As much a fairy Tail wanted to fight back and could easily overpower them, Ogre was the reason the guild was still standing to this day.

"Teebo, the master is out. We told you, you'll get your damn money next month", Erza said.

"Our boss wants the money now but, in my opinion I wouldn't take money from a crappy guild like this. Now be a good girl and hand over the money". That last comment was enough to make the guild tense with anger. Erza was about to say something until she was cut off.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK DOWN TO US LIKE WE'RE DOGS!" Fairy Tail and the ogre gang turned around to see Lisanna standing with Happy hiding behind her and she was filled with rage at that last comment.

"Lisanna please, calm down. It isn't that serious", Mira said

"NO MIRA-NEE, IT IS SERIOUS. I'M TIRED OF EVERYONE LOOKING DOWN ON US. WE HAVE TO FIGHT BACK AND IF NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO, THEN I WILL!" Lisanna declared as she clenched her fist. Mira was speechless as well as the whole guild. Lisanna is usually the quiet one and never started fights. The change in her behavior was concerning Elfman and Mirajane. As Lisanna started a fight with the ogre mages, the entire guild couldn't move (mostly out of guilt). Erza was deep in thought think of how the take-over mage's behavior has changed.

'Lisanna, what's gotten into you? You've never acted like this', Erza snapped out thought when she heard Lisanna's cry.

"Get off of me!" The platinum-haired mage said (now in her tigress take-over) as she was held in place by one of the ogre mages.

"Lisanna!" Erza, Gray, and Mira ran to her rescue.

"Stay where you are!" Lisanna ordered. "This is my fight"

"Lisanna, stop trying to act bold", the raven-haired mage said as he got his ice magic ready.

"NO YOU STOP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and left everybody shock at her tone. Gray even lost focus on his magic. "I…don't…need…your…help", she said with a death tone. "What are you waiting for Teebo, hit me, or are you too afraid to hit a woman".

"You cocky little…FAIRY!" Teebo's fist collided with Lisanna's face and continuously punched her as one of the twilight mages held her in place. Happy cringed at every hit. Watching his 'mother' take all those hits was too much to take. The rest of the guild, were still unable to move. What was stopping them? After six clean hits, Lisanna had a very visible bruise.

"It that you got, you damn lowlife?" she said with a determined face as she spat blood at Teebo's face.

"Lisanna, stop this!" Max Alors yelled

"You…YOU FAIRY BIT-!". A fist collided with Teebo's face and went flying into the guild with a hard crash. Both Fairy Tail and Twilight Ogre were surprised by this new arrival. The man was of medium-tall height, a blood-red trench coat with black designs on it and with pants with the same designs to match; a black belt was well as black fingerless gloves and leather combat boots. To finish it, the trench coat had a hood attachment.

"That's no way to treat a lady, gentlemen", the hooded figure said.

"He hit Teebo, GET HIM!" the ogre mages ran towards to the hooded man to avenge their friend. The newcomer did not move a muscle. One moment, the ogre mages were rushed towards him, then the next that stopped suddenly, which confused to fairy mages; they then dropped to the ground and lay unconscious. Fairy Tail was stunned by what they just saw just now. It was obvious the hooded man did something but they couldn't even see whatever he did.

"W-what the…"

"Who the hell is this guy?"

"And what the hell did he just do?" the hooded figure walked over to Lisanna and offered her his hand. She accepted it and stood up.

"Thank you, sir", she said as she bowed down.

"No problem", the man answered

"Lisanna!" Gray, Erza, and Mira ran up to the bruised take-over mage.

"Why did you do that", Mira asked as she took a cloth to wipe the blood away from her face.

"Because I'm not going to just sit here and let people talk bad about us!" Lisanna shouted. It was clear that she was still mad at them for doing nothing after the ogre mages insulted them.

"Lisanna, I know how you feel but, it isn't such a big deal to-", Erza said until she was cut off.

"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" the sound of a slap echoed through the air as Mira's hand came across Lisanna's face, shocking everybody, even the hooded man was in a state of shock.

"Lisanna, stop this at once", Mira ordered. The youngest take-over mage was caught by surprise by the slap and held her cheek and walked pass everybody and into the guild.

"You all disappointed me…and Natsu", she whispered so low that nobody could hear her. Mira turned around to the hooded figure and bowed down.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what came over her".

"It's quite alright", the hooded figure said. Out of nowhere a sword came to the man's neck.

"Getting back on the situation, who are you and why did you come here?!" instead of cringing in fear, the whole guild just sweat dropped at the armored mage's antics.

"Wow, so straight forward" the guild though to themselves.

(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**Ok. Now you're probably wondering why the guild got so weak even though the Tenrou Island group didn't disappear. Well here it is. THIS IS FANFICTION PEOPLE! GET USE TO IT! Just kidding, but I'm sticking to this though, also be aware that they're like Natsu's death affects them all. The most loyal wizard of the guild dies, who wouldn't. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If not, sorry for that. New chapter coming soon. Oh, one more thing, I can't come up with any magic for the main villain for the story so leave some comments and reviews and tell me what type of magic I should give him. Also, I've been looking at all your comments about the harem, I'll try my best with it so please bear with it; It's my first fanfic. well, I guess that's all! Ja-Ne!**

**-HeartlessAngel96 **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Familiar Scent In The Air

"Who are you and why did you come here?!"

'Wow, so straight forward', the guild mages thought to themselves.

"Whoa now, I didn't come here to fight. I simply came to see how my old guild was doing", the hooded figure put his hands up to his sides to show he wasn't lying.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I used to be a member of this guild", the entire guild was confused at what was said since they never seen the man before.

"Then, how come we've never seen you before?" Gajeel intervened.

"Well one, you probably don't remember me, and two, my hood is covering my face so...yeah", the hooded.

"Touché, mysterious man", the iron and ice mage retorted. Erza sweat dropped at the boys' remarks.

"Who are you?" Erza tried to ask the same question again.

"My name is not important at this time"

"At least show us your face", she said as her hand reached for the man's face. He back flipped away from Erza holing his hood in place.

"Sorry, I have a scar I'm not too proud of"

"What is going on?" the hooded figure turned to see both Makarov and Laxus approaching. Makarov noticed the newcomer and wonder who he was.

'Who are you?" the master of Fairy Tail asked.

"Just a lonely wanderer", Laxus saw Teebo and his gang knocked out.

"What happened?" the second generation dragon slayer asked

"One of your mages got into a fight with these mages here", the red-coated man said as he pointed to the twilight mages. "I didn't approve of them hitting a woman so I stepped in"

"Who was fighting?" the titan mage asked.

"It was Lisanna, master" Makarov rubbed his temple in frustration.

"Hmmm, Lisanna's attitude has changed as of late. Where is she, anyway?"

"She went inside. Wendy, go inside and heal her wounds", Erza told the Sky Maiden.

"Hai", Wendy said as she went inside.

"Well, I'd best be taking my leave. Hope to see you in three months, Master Makarov", with that, the hooded figure started to walk down the hill towards the city.

"Master..."

"Tell me everything that happened", Makarov said as Erza told the master everything that happened.

* * *

Inside the guild infirmary, Wendy Marvell was currently healing Lisanna's wounds. The young sky dragon slayer had blossomed into a beautiful young lady. Now at the age of nineteen, she had changed dramatically. Teaching herself offensive dragon slayer magic, she wanted to get stronger so that something like Natsu's death won't occur again. Unknown to the guild, just like Erza and Mira the blue-haired mage started to fall in love with Igneel's son. Though, she never had the courage to tell him, she never gave up and pressed on and hoped for they day when he notices her feelings. The events of the Tenrou Incident made her world come crashing down around her. For the past seven years, she had been trying to leave the past behind, but day by day, not having the man you love next to you or even around hurts the soul painfully.

"Alright, I'm done", the sky maiden announced.

"Thanks, Wendy", Lisanna thanked.

"I have to say Wendy; you're getting better a controlling your healing magic", Carla complimented. "but getting back to the situation at hand, why did you fight those idiots Lisanna. It's not something you normally do.

"Exactly Lisanna, why did you do that?"

"Because, I don't want people to look at us at weaklings"

"You know good as well we're not weak"

"Well as of late, no for the past seven years, no one but me will fight", Wendy knew that something was disturbing her friend just by looking at her.

"Lisanna...?"

"I'm just...so pissed...so frickin'...pissed", the platinum-haired mage said as she clenched her fist.

"Lisanna, if there is something bothering you, just te-"

"Wendy, do you even know what today is?" Wendy was caught off guard. Her whole attitude went from worrying about her friend to down right sad and teary eyed.

"Y-y-yes. I…I…do", silence filled the room as both girls sat on the bed and looked down to the ground.

"We have to get stronger…for his sake", Lisanna said as she broke the silence.

"How do we do that?"

"…By becoming the strongest guild in the country"

"You…you can't mean…"

"You know!"

* * *

Downstairs, the Mages of Fairy Tail went in and continued on with their business. Gajeel however, was looking and feeling uneasy. It all started when that hooded guy arrived to help Lisanna.

"Gajeel-Kun, what's wrong?" Juvia asked as she walked over to him.

"What do you mean?"

Well, you've had this weird look on your face since that man left", Panther Lily added

"I don't know. Just…something about that guy earlier is making me feel uneasy"

"What do you mean?" Mira said as she walked over and handed a glass of beer to Gajeel.

Gajeel thanked Mira as he took a sip. "I picked up a really shocking scent and…"

"And?"

"I-It was the scent of a Dragon", Once again the chatter and drinking was put to a halt. Everybody went wide-eyed at what they just heard.

"W-w-what did you just say? Laxus and Erza asked in horror at the same time.

"That's not all. I also…picked up the scent of human blood and death on him", Gajeel started to sweat bullets. Maybe sometime in his past, he's seen that before but, if he was trembling in fear just because of a scent, then they knew that this was serious.

"What kind…of a man is that?" Mira started to feel nervous and uncomfortable.

"Maybe that man was a dragon slayer".

"That doesn't even begin to explain what I picked up. W-what really took my mind is that...man had the exact same scent as-", Gajeel was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Ah, Lisanna, Wendy there you are", the master said. The two girls ran up to the master who was sitting on the bar and slammed their hands on the counter.

"MASTER, WE WANT TO COMPETE IN THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES!"

"…"

"…"

"…"  
"whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**Bam! Another chapter done. Hope you all enjoyed it. For those who haven't noticed yet, I'm taking a lot from the manga and anime to make my story. I am still using most of my own elements however. Sorry if it's a little short. Some of the chapters will be long or short. Just a heads up so you're not disappointed. From here on out, I can't promise when I update some just be patient guys. well, Until next time. Ja-Ne!**

**-HeartlessAngel96**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Striving To be No.1 In Fiore!

"Absolutely Not!" the scarlet mage yelled

"But why! Why can't we enter?!" Lisanna argued.

"It makes no sense to enter, Lisanna. We come in last place every year. We'd only be embarrassing ourselves", Alzack said.

"Master please, you have to let us participate"

"Hmm, I'm not sure that is wise", Makarov began. "We haven't been getting any jobs; everyone is not as strong as we used to be. We are behind by seven years. We wouldn't stand a chance.

"Then why not have us practice and-", Lisanna was cut off before she can finish.

"No means no, Lisanna!" Erza yelled as she walked away. There was quiet for a few seconds before Lisanna spoke.

"Wendy, come on...say something. You want to do this too".

"W-w-well, since Erza puts it that way, she's right. We wouldn't last a minute the way we are now", she said nervously while she fidgeted with her fingers. Everyone was silent. The only sound that can be heard was the sound of Erza's heels as she made her was towards the door.

"Heh, I guess what everybody says about us is true. We are weak" Erza stopped in her tracks when she heard that.

"What was that?" Erza said, sounded a little confused.

"With an attitude like that, we might as well have a big label 'weakest guild' hammered right in the front".

"Lisanna, what going on with you for the past year. Your behavior is starting to concern all of us. First your curse when you angry, then you isolate yourself from the guild, and now you're starting fights? What's the reason behind this?" Cana asked.

"Well, miss drunkee; maybe if you all grew a backbone maybe I wouldn't act like this," Lisanna snapped at the card mage. Everybody gasped in surprised at words that came out of her mouth.

"Lisanna, don't say things like that," Levy said.

"I wasn't talking to you was I, bookworm", Lisanna started to clench her fist out of anger.

"Lisanna..." Happy whispered his 'mother's' name out of fear and concern. Up to this point, Lisanna was getting furious a everybody in the guild.

"Lisanna, what is with this behavior?"

"God, I wish you all would just SHUT UP!" By now, Erza was thoroughly angry with the young take-over mage.

"Lisanna, why are you think like that towards us?!" Lisanna couldn't take it anymore. She let out all the anger she kept inside for seven years into one violent voice.

"WHY AM I THINKING LIKE THIS?! WHAT WOULD NATSU THINK IF HE SAW US HANGING OUR HEADS IN SHAME AND BECOME NOTHING BUT LOW, WEAK, IDIOTS AND DID NOTHING BUT COWER IN THE SHADOWS LIKE DOGS FOR SEVEN DAMN YEARS?!"

The entire guild went silent and no one dared to make a sound. Since Natsu's death seven years ago, his name was never mentioned throughout the guild for two reasons. The first reason was that they would even forget that he even existed. It was not because they wanted too; they forgot him because they didn't want to remember that fateful day when they lost him. The other reason was because Lisanna did not want anyone to mention his name, either out of seriousness nor play. It pained her to think that everybody forgot Natsu just for her sake. Yes, it was kind of them, but deep down, she was furious they did that. Today was just going all wrong. First, Twilight Ogre comes, Lisanna starts a fight with them, a hooded man with the scent of blood and death comes to check out the guild and states he used to be a member, and now; Lisanna want to compete in the Grand Magic Games and yells out Natsu's name. The whole guild remained silent once again and the only sound that can be heard was the air circulating throughout the walls of the small building.

"Natsu..." Levy whispered through tears as the painful memories of watching her 'brother' die in front of her eyes resurfaced.

"It's been seven years, huh?" Lucy stated with pain and suffering in her eyes.

"The guild hasn't been the same without him", Mira added with a tear forming from her eye.

"Even till this day, I...can't believe...that he's gone", Gajeel said as his hair was covering his eyes and Levy latching onto his arm for comfort. Though he and Gray never admit it, just like Levy, both boys loved Natsu as their brother. They seeing his smug face, that toothy grin of his, but most of all they missed the fights they always had with him. Everyone snapped out of thought when they heard something drop from where Teebo had landed.

Oi, My sketchbook", Reedus, the pict mage went to pick up his book when some pictures flew out. Those pictures were of the dragon slayer that gave up his life to save his friends that faithful day. Having to look at the smile he always put on a piece of paper instead of looking at it in real life made everyone lose control of their emotions and they all broke down in tears. Even after seven years of Natsu's absence, his death still affected the guild mates very badly.

"Do...do you even know what today is...Erza?" Lisanna said through tears

"Yes...Today...is Natsu's...Anniversary", Erza responded as she started to choke on her own tears.

"You...you damn...idiot" Gray muttered through tears.

"...Dumbass...", Laxus said as a tear rolled down his cheek

"How could you...you selfish...bastard", Makarov said softly through teary eyes. Though he was the only one who was in control of his tears that still didn't stop him from tearing of the painful moment of his 'child's' death. Guild cried a little more before Lisanna said something.

"Please…master…..you have to let us participate. For…Natsu's sake" she said through sniffles.

"Do you really want to do this...Lisanna?"

"Y-yes"

The old man wiped his tears away from his eyes. "Very well".

"Master, please I beg of you!" Erza started to plea for Makarov to take back. "I don't doubt her strength but, she won't survive the way she is now. Especially against Sabertooth".

"Please master, talk her out of this!" Some guild members started to complain about the Titan mage's decision.

"ALL OF YOU, QUIT YOUR PETTY COMPLAING AND SIT UP STRAIGHT" Every single mage stood silent when Lisanna's voice boomed through the halls of the guild.

"Look at you, all of you! I know he would never do that, but if Natsu were, He'd be so disgusted with us!" the fairy mages cringed at the take-over mage's words. "I know his death means a lot of us, but he wouldn't want us the give up our lives just because of him; he'd want us to use his death as a motivation to get stronger. Erza, he always looked up to you as a role model, someone who he one day wants to be. How would he react if he saw the great Titania, become what you are now"? Erza felt as if she was stabbed in the heart. Lisanna was right. Natsu looked up her and she knew it. She felt guilty that Lisanna was right about everything that was said.

"He...would be...very...disappointed"

"You're not off the hook either, Gray. What's your answer to my question"? Gray was silent with guilt, which more than enough answer for her question.

"I don't care if you don't want to compete, I'm doing this, for Natsu's sake and mine".

"You're not doing this alone, Lisanna", Wendy said with a confident face. Lisanna smiled and the sky dragon slayer's decision. Carla smiled softly at Wendy's answer.

"Wendy, you've really grown in his absence".

"You can't be serious?!" Gray and Erza shouted in unison.

"Erza", the platinum-haired mage walked up to them and hugged them. "I'm sorry for yelling at you guy's. I just got upset because someone as strong as you two shouldn't let yourselves. Trust me, I felt the same way after a while, but we can't use that as an excuse anymore. We have reason to move forward".

"Your right, Lisanna", the redhead responded with a smile of righteousness on her face.

"Heh, can't argue there", the ice mage did the same thing. Makarov was very impressed. Lisanna of all people, would motivate an entire guild to become stronger. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that she took away all of the guild's sadness and turned it into happiness.

"Lisanna my dear, you have made a new light shine in me", the short old man jumped on the bar counter. "ALRIGHT YOU BRATS! WE HAVE ONE GOAL, TO BECOME THE NO.1 GUILD IN FIORE!" The whole guild was no longer filled with sadness, and grief, but happiness and the only thing on their minds was making Natsu proud. "SHOW THEM YOUR STENGTH!"

"Hai!"

"SHOW THEM WHO'S AT THE TOP!"

"Gee Hee"

"SHOW THEM WE NEVER BACK DOWN!"

"Hell yeah!"

"PROVE TO THEM THAT THIS...IS...FAIRY TAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!" The mages shouted in confidence and in happiness something they haven't felt in years." "Now, let us party!" Fairy Tail was filled with eager and pumped mages who looked forward to three months of training. Towards four o' clock, the mages started to clear out and went home to get ready for the long three months of training. Lisanna, Happy and Elfman left before Mira to get ready.

"Lisanna, you really want to do this don't you?" Elfman asked.

"Yup! And there is nothing you can say to stop me"

"Well, then we'll support you all the way!" Happy added in

"Thanks, guys! Race you! Last one has to cook dinner tonight!"

"Hey no fair" Elfman shouted since it was obvious that he was the slowest of the three. Back at the guild, Mira was about finish cleaning and was ready to go home. Everything that happened today tired her out and all she wanted to do is go home and sleep.

"Natsu, how are you doing up there? I hope the heavens are treating you well", though she sort of hoped for a response, she knew she wouldn't get one. Images of the dragon slayer appeared in her mind as she continued to clean. Everything that they've been through with each other made her smile brightened up. The memories of when he used to cry made him too damn cute and she couldn't help, but blush. She had to admit that seeing him grow up into a man made her blush brighter. "I wish you were here, so I can wrap myself in your arms and smell the sweet flame you posses". She couldn't deny that she loved the dragon slayer as more than just a friend. Despite all the wonderful thoughts she was having, her smile turned into a frown when she remembered something. "Why...why do I feel like I'm crossing my...boundaries?" The demon winced in pain as an image of Natsu and Lisanna were kissing each other deeply appeared in her mind. A slight ounce of pain arrived in her chest. As she tried to shake the image out of her head. She knew Lisanna loved Natsu with all her heart; which is why she concealed her feelings for him inside. "If you were here...I know you would choose me as your mate...right...Natsu?" she stood looking at the sky through the guild doors with her cheeks still visible with a hard blush.

* * *

Somewhere in Fiore, a man with blonde hair sits on a rock while starting a conversation with another man with black hair. "Hey Rouge, you heard?"

"..."

"Fairy Tail is actually going to participate this year. I really though they would have given up by now", the blonde said.

"They probably just lose like every year"

Wow, I feel so Nostalgic...just think that seven years ago I was this small and I looked to that bastard, Natsu", the man gestured his hand to show how small he was. "And you were gajeel's apprentice, man that asshole was scary".

"Don't cling to the past Sting. Those fools did not take the same path we took", the ravened-haired mage said.

"Found Ya!" An unknown mage appeared with an arrow and shot it at Rouge with his bow. Much to the man's horror, his arrow was caught by Sting. If that wasn't enough, his eyes went bulging out of his head was the arrow was being eaten. "H-h-he ate the arrow"

Munch munch munch

"No way, it can't be-" the man was cut off by a powerful magic blast erupted from Sting's mouth; leaving a gigantic hole in a nearby wall and destroyed half of the man's helmet since the blast slightly grazed him. "T-t-the twin dragons of Sabertooth. The white dragon, Sting and the shadow dragon, Rouge". The now frightened mage dropped his weapons and ran for his life "I GIVE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!".

"Oi! Leaving your comrades behind? Guess you really are scum", Sting smirked.

"They are a dark guild after all", Rouge retorted as a big pile of unconscious bodies laid behind them.

"I think you guys overdid it", a voice said behind the trio.

"Lector, Frosche, when did you guys get here?" Two exceeds appeared. One with a brownish-red color with a blue vest, and a green one with a pink frog suit.

"There's no need to prove that you are strong. It's not like we're going to lose the grand magic games to some newbie guild".

"Fro thinks so too", Forsche added.

"You said it, Lector" the white dragon slayer hi-fived his best friend. The group of four took their leave and headed back toward their guild.

"You heard Fairy Tail is still competing for the seventh time?" Lector asked the mages.

"Yeah, but in my opinion, that guild is nothing without Natsu", Sting started. "Since he's gone, their nothing more than garbage. You're lucky, Rouge; at least your idol is still there. My dream of surpassing him is gone. Not that there was a competition".

"Guess so".

"Would you want to fight Natsu too if you had the chance?" the blonde mage asked his comrade.

"Not interested".

* * *

Later that night, Magnolia was somewhat quiet, since most of it's residents were already asleep. At the quiet Fairy Tail guild Master Makarov was sitting on the guild roof; looking at the stars and hoped to see a glimpse of his lost child. "Natsu my boy, how is life up in God's kingdom. I hope it is treating you well". He sighed knowing he wasn't going to get an answer. "Please son, just...leave me a sign to tell me if you're okay".

"I think he's doing just fine", an angelic, female voice said behind the aging master.

"Who goes th-", the titan mage quickly turned to see who said that and was stunned at his results.

"What's the matter first, cat got your tongue?" the female giggled at Makarov's reaction to her arrival.

"Your...Mavis Vermillion, Fairy Tail's first master".

(To Be Continued...)

* * *

**Well, here's Chapter four. While I'm here, so I want to get something of my chest. To all NaLu fans on this sight, I admire your creativity, but why do most of you hate on Lisanna! Every time I see a NaLu story, it's mostly Lisanna being evil and taking Natsu away from Lucy and she ends up leaving the guild to either train or get revenge. It really gets annoying that I have to see that every time I come to this site. I understand that it's your story and you can do whatever you want with it which is fine, but stop portraying Lisanna as a villain. She is the most innocent girl in the guild and if she loves Natsu, then Leave them alone. As a NaLi shipper, I'm going to defend them. I do hate Lucy (not her actual personality). well, It's not really that I hate her completely , but her development as a character is sometimes not needed. I'm sure Some NaLu fans can support me on this. I'm not trying to discourage you to stop writing, but come up with something original. I don't like how Lisanna is portrayed in some of these stories. Well that I got that off my chest, It's official, the type of magic has been settled. I noticed a lot of you readers want to see some distortion/gravity magic. I have decided to use both, they won't be used by the main villain. If you guys still want to give me suggestions, feel free to do so. Well, I'm done, Now it's off to play some Resident Evil 6. Next chapter coming soon. Ja-Ne!**

**-HeartlessAngel96**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Time to Head Off For Training

"First Master, Mavis Vermillion?" Makarov asked with a shocked face.

"How's it going, third?"

"W-what are you doing here, first"

"Well, I have two reasons".

"Reasons?"

"Yup. One, I just wanted to see how my guild is doing and two, well…I got REALLY bored being at the island by myself", the blonde master said while sticking her tongue out innocently.

"So child-like", Makarov sweat dropped the child-like master's antics. After a few seconds, Mavis broke the silence between the two.

"So, I hear that the guild is going to participate in the Grand Magic Games".

"Yes. I have to admit; at first, we didn't want to compete for certain reasons, but one bright young woman in our guild cracked the armor shells around our hearts and now, our fighting spirits are now brighter than ever".

"well, I hope you succeed".

"Yeah…succeed", the titan mage sat there in silence once again. Mavis saw a hurt look on his face and wondered what was troubling him.

"Third, is something the matter?" Mavis asked in concern face.

"First, I have to ask you something".

"Ask away".

"Do…you think that Natsu is really gone? I know that I shouldn't be saying that after seven years, but I feel as if he's out there somewhere".

"Don't worry Makarov; he may be closer than you think. Something tells me that he survived the explosion".

"I see", the titan mage looked at his senior with a confused face. He sure didn't know how to react to the master's cheerful reaction.

"Well, in my opinion, you have done a wonderful job keeping the guild standing high".

"But most of the members left and the guild looks like a community club".

"Makarov!" Mavis said while puffing her cheeks in anger. "Don't say such things. For someone who has been in charge for over fourteen years, you have some really low confidence for your team. Makarov stayed shut, feeling guilty for what he said.

"I'm sorry, first. It's just that...something from Lisanna's 'lecture' towards us made me see something that I didn't see before".

"Oh, what is that?"

"Lisanna said that Natsu would be disappointed if he saw us sulking over his death. Even though he died seven years ago, I can't help but wonder who hurt more' his guild mates or me. She was right; the guild is this way because of me".

"Makarov, please don't blame yourself", the blonde spirit said softly.

"Natsu...always made me smile, regardless of what stupid things he got into. He was like the son I never got to meet and...When he died...I...I felt so...lost. Instead of learning from Natsu's absence, I continued to let it blacken my heart with sadness. I let that pain remain in my heart and in the hearts of the others as well. He trusted me to brighten up their lives, but all I did was made it worse by not doing anything. Heh, I really makes me feel like crap that and woman younger than me did my job for me". Mavis looked at the old man before speaking and smiled.

"Well, I believe none of that is true. If that was the case then the others who stayed would have left as well".

"First"

"It really has become a wonderful guild…Third", Mavis gave Makarov a smile that would brighten up anyone's day.

"Thank you…master", the titan mage said in comical tears.

"Now…mind telling me why the building looks more like a shack than a guild", the blonde gave Makarov a blank and child-like upset look.

"Crap", the master froze with guilt.

* * *

Meanwhile, about four cities from Magnolia, A town called Aqualonia; the city was filled with lights and people cheering to their hearts content. The city of Aqualonia was known for quite a few things. One, the city has one of the freshest water spots in Fiore; as well as since most of the city was filled with ponds and the river ran with fresh fish daily. The other reason was for it's uncommon, but rather family-like guild, who was currently in the process of celebrating in the city's annual parade. In some of the less noisy but rather lively parts of the town, children were playing games and at stands buying things that looked fun.

"Man, Phoenix Wing is the best. They are totally going to demolish Sabertooth!" one child said near a game area.

"Call me a traitor, but I really want Fairy Tail to come out on top", another child said.

"Don't be ridiculous, man. They're too weak. They'll never reclaim their fame".

"Oh come one kids. Don't say such hurtful things about people who aren't here to defend their selves", a feminine voice said in the back of the children.

"It's Icis-Chan!" the kids shouted as they ran up to the woman. Icis Valentine was one of the most beautiful women out of the guild correction, out of the entire town, as well as one of the five strongest mages and was looked as 'the motherly figure' of all the children of the town. Icis was a woman of average height; she had a slender body with long blue hair with some coming off the side, bright green eyes, and a short blue blouse skirt. To top that off, she wore a small but skinny jeans jacket with a black shirt underneath. She also wore sky blue stockings that go a little past the knees and black combat boots and her Phoenix Wing guild mark can be seen on her left thigh. The adults were so surprised how she carried so much wisdom at such a young age. Even though there are times she can act a little childish, she knew when and where was the time for such behavior and that is one of her many qualities the people of Aqualonia loved about her so much. "Kids, you shouldn't talk bad about Fairy Tail, they are strong after all".

"Maybe back then yeah, but with you, Conner, Mizuki, Hunter, and N competing, you guys will definitely win", the blue-haired woman sighed in defeat.

"I can't change your minds can I?

"Nope!" the kids shouted simultaneously. Icis simply giggled at ruffled on of the children's hair.

"Well, if that's the case, then they'll have one heck of a time taking that title back".

"Oh come on guys, my baby sister is right", a male voice said behind the bluenette.

"Hey Conner, you sure got here fast. Finished with the mission already?" Icis asked her big brother. Conner Valentine was a man of medium-tall height. He wore a black and red vest underneath his spiky leather trench coat. He had on Gothic leather tight jeans with a chain hanging off his left side of his hip and a belt wrapped around his waist twice and black and red Goth boots. His hands were covered with fingerless gloves and black nail polish on his fingernails as well as two rings on his thumbs. To finish up, he wore a spiked choker, with black eyeliners and his short jet-black and red hair covering his right eye. His hair was originally blue like his sister's, but he dyed his hair mostly because he doesn't like bright colors. Conner can easily be looked as the strongest mage in the guild; however he never cared about things like that. He only cared about protecting those he cares for; such as his younger sister. Though he rarely liked to smile because of his past, he will gladly open his heart up and listen to others. That kindness he possesses won him the heart of Mizuki Kobayashi, who was right up there with Icis in the category of most beautiful and strongest mages in the guild. Like his sister, he carried such wisdom at a young age and all the children of the town looked up to him.

"Two words, Very boring", the black and red haired mage sounded depressed as he kissed his sister on the cheek.

"Was it that bad?" Icis sweat dropped at her brother's answer. "

"Those bandits were just pure nonsense and those dark mages they had with them were child's play".

"At least you got a decent pay. Now we can get some groceries for our house".

"Conner-san!" the mages' attention was drawn to the group of kids running up to them.

"Hey kids. Enjoying the festival?"

"Yeah, and we're also gonna enjoy watching you guys win the grand magic games". One of kids said in delight.

"I don't know, guys. This is the first time our guild will be competing in the games, after all". Conner said to the group of children.

"No way! You guys are super strong! You won't lose to anyone!" the gothic mage simply chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm.

"Heh, well don't worry your little heads, kids. We'll put our entire fight into it". While the groups of kids were talking to the town idols, a woman with long red hair in stiletto heels and a simple, yet elegant black dress which sort of revealed a decent amount of her huge bust approached them and covered Conner's eyes with her hands.

"Guess who", the woman said in a teasing voice

"Wow Jessica, your hands are really soft today".

"WHAT? You've been cheating on me?! Who is she? I'm SO going to kill her! Nobody takes away my Conner and get away with it", the redhead said with a dark aura around her.

"Damn, I was only kidding, Mizuki. You know I'll never cheat on you", he said as he pulled her closer to him and gave her a kiss on her soft lips. Mizuki blushed out of embarrassment for her comical outburst (well, serious in her case) and out of happiness when her beloved said those last words.

"I'm sorry, Honey", she apologized while snuggling into his chest. "But, I love you too much for you to leave me for some other girl".

"Well, that's not going to happen. Not now or ever". In her defense, Conner hit her soft spot with those loving words and she couldn't resist. She got on her tippy toes and crashed her lips onto Conner's and they engaged in a very passionate kiss. They were so caught up in the moment that they forgot that there were kids watching them.

"Ugh. Get a room, you two", The Blue-haired mage said while covering her eyes followed by the children doing the same thing.

"Don't go hating, Icis. You wish you can do this with N", Mizuki teased her best friend.

"I-I-I-I don't want to do such a thing. Why would I want to do that with that incredible, sexy man?" she tried to argue back, but it made no point. She was blushing madly now. The redness of her cheeks rivaled even the redhead's hair color.

"My point exactly".

"W-w-well, maybe a…little kiss won't hurt anybody" Icis as she fidgeted with her fingers and gave an innocent, but embarrassed look".

"Ahh, it's truly wonderful to be young", an old man approached the mages. He wore a purple coat with pants and boots. On the back of his coat was the wizard saint insignia.

"Master Victor", Conner greeted the master of Phoenix Wing.

"I hope you all our enjoying your selves", the old master asked his mages.

"Yes, we are quite entertained master", Conner said. Speaking of which, where is that idiot, Hunter?"

"Home sleeping like a lazy ass", Victor deadpanned.

"I swear, if he wasn't one of the five strongest and my friend, I would've kicked is ass already", Icis sweat dropped at the master's answer.

"No kidding", Mizuki added in with a vein pooping out of her head. "Hunter may be ridiculously strong and reliable, but he is just SO lazy".

"Wait, Where is N?" the Phoenix master asked.

"He said he dropping Ikiza off at her friend's house and then he was going run some errands when we got back from checking up on Fairy Tail".

"Are they doing fine?"

"There fine, a little depressed but fine".

"That's good to hear". Victor's senses kicked in as he felt a strong energy source coming closer. "Speak of the devil, here he is right now." A familiar man with a red trench coat walked up to then group of kids and mages.

"Hey guys. Sorry I took so long", the red-coated man said.

"N!" the kids surrounded the man with smiles on their faces.

"Hey kids. Loud as usual. Are you enjoying the festival? We all worked hard to put this together".

"N! You're here!" the next thing N knew was that a large pair of breasts smothered his face. Icis literally pounced on him and smothered the poor man. "It's about time you got here". What took you so long? I was starting to get worried".

"Icis…" he murmured while still being smothered. "I've only been gone for a few hours". Now please…can't…breathe…" he said starting to lose oxygen as Icis's large bust started to suffocate him. He tried to reach out and grad something, but all he could grab was air".

"Oh, sorry", she smiled sheepishly as she let go of him.

"See. What did I tell you?" Mizuki teased once more.

"S-S-SHUT UP!"

'She is so into him", Conner and Victor thought.

"Well, aren't you dressed up, Mizuki", N complimented the red-haired woman's attire after finally catching his breath.

"Thank you, N", Mizuki thanked her best friend and team leader. "So, how is your old guild doing?"

"They still going; just like I hoped they would. Most of its members did leave, but I didn't really talk to those people".

"By the way N, why...do you have a walking stick".

"I was just about to ask you guys. I need your help".

"With what?" Conner asked.

"One my way back I was walking through the closest town when an old lady was trying to get her cat who was stuck in a very high tree; and when I mean high, I'm talking about, if it jumped off, it wasn't surviving'".

"How...did the cat get there?" Mizuki asked her team leader.

"I asked the exact same question. Anyways, I was able to get the cat without any trouble, but on my way done...a branch I was using to jump down to snapped and I fell from a decent height. The mages cringed and imagined how high their friend from.

"Wait, so...you're saying..."

"I broke both my butt cheeks and I sprained my ankle so you guys are gonna have to carry me home", as soon as N finished; he fell on the ground and looked like a rag doll.

"Oh, crap! Alright, I'll grab his arms, Icis, Mizuki take his legs", the girls did as instructed and went to pick up their comrade; however it didn't go the way they planned. As soon as they picked him up they dropped by accident and were already out of breath.

"Owww! What the hell was that for?!" the hooded man said

"dude (Pant), you're frickin' (Pant) heavy" Conner told his friend while panting

"So you drop me?"

"Can't we just leave you here? Your healing abilities will kick in soon, anyways"

"NO! you can't just leave me here. Now come on! I have a home to get to".

"Ugh; Fine", Conner sighed in defeat. The trio of mages picked him grunting and panting and continued to take N home; but not without dropping him consistently.

* * *

The Next Day...

The mages of Fairy Tail mages all split into separate teams and went on their three-month training vacation. The Connell's went off in their direction, Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe went somewhere in the mountains, the Strauss siblings along with Cana went south of Magnolia. Team Natsu hadn't left yet since it's members were still preparing to leave. Gray, Lucy, Lisanna, and Wendy all had on book bags and were ready to go, but they felt as if they were missing something.

"All I'm saying is that aside from Laxus and Gildarts who are already powerhouses, we're still a little too weak for this time period", Gray said.

Well, what do you suggest?" Lisanna asked who hadn't left with her siblings.

"Maybe there is a shortcut to raise out magic powers", Happy exclaimed while putting his finger to his chin. "Any ideas?"

"Well, I have one".

-sometime later in the forest outside Magnolia-

"..."

"So, whadda you say?"

"Go home!" with a slam of the door, Porlyusica, the medicine advisor of Fairy Tail left the mages outside her home.

"Wow, somebody is in a bad mood", the silvered-haired mage sweat dropped at the woman's action.

"Please, Porlyusica. Don't you have a magic pill or something", Lucy shouted so that she can be heard. Carla turned to see Wendy with a troubled look.

"Wendy, is something bothering you?" the white exceed asked her companion.

"No, it's nothing," Carla wasn't taking her answer seriously but was snapped out of thought when the sound of the door got her attention.

"Still here, I see", the pink-haired woman came out.

"Oh, happy to see you have a change of heart." The ice mage said. Porlyusica grew mad as a vein mark popped out of her head.

"WRONG! I hate humans! Now get the hell out of here! Go on Shoo Shoo!" the pink-haired yelled out as she began to swing her broom violently at the young mages.

"Sorry for disturbing you!" the celestial mage said as she covered her heads with her hands to protect herself from incoming apples.

"We won't bother you ever again", Lisanna said while mimicking Lucy.

"Who's the old lady, anyway?" Happy asked flying away.

"Probably master's old flame" Gray answered as an apple nailed him in the head.

"Like hell I am, crap for brains!" as the four mages ran away, Wendy kept looking back at the elder woman. Something about her felt very familiar.

* * *

Later after some running…

"Gaah! Who's big idea (Pant) was it to visit her (Pant) in the first place", Lucy panted while she laid on a tree log.

"Yours", Happy exclaimed as he was face-first on the ground exhausted.

"(Pant) apples (Pant) are (Pant) evil", Lisanna said through pants while she was on the ground with her butt in the air and a large bump on her forehead"

"Ugh; never again", Gray said as rested his head on a tree. He noticed was crying and became concerned with what happened. "Wendy, are you okay? Did that old hag made you cry?" Gray gritted his teeth at the memory of Porlyusica pelting apples at the group.

'Wow, he really hates her, now' both Lisanna and Lucy sweat dropped at the ice mage's reaction.

"W-w-why, why didn't I see it before?" the sky dragon slayer said with a teary face.

"What are you talking about? Have you met her before?" Carla asked.

"Not personally. I've only seen her a few times, but now that I've got a full look of her, I noticed something".

"Noticed what?" the take-over mage said. "Her voice…her smell, everything about her…is exactly the same as Grandine". The three mages were in a state of shock. They couldn't believe what they just heard. Even the exceeds were speechless.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, my mother and her sound exactly the same".

"But that can't be!" Happy added in. "Was Grandine able to form into a human?"

"No. Not that I remember, anyway." Wendy answered.

"Now that I think about it..." Lucy began. "Porlyusica's existence overlaps the time the dragons were still here; fourteen years to be precise. So that theory contradicts itself; plus she can't be two beings at once".

"Dying and being reincarnated is the only thing I can think of, but that's not the case here", the platinum-haired mage claimed.

"But, what is don't get is her attitude", Wendy began. "Grandine was passionate and kind, Porlyusica's is a little...different".

"But you said that Grandine loved humans. Porlyusica despises them", Carla added

"Maybe she hates cats, too!"

"No, Grandine was a gentle dragon".

"I can't imagine a dragon being gentle", the raven-haired mage said while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ever since Acnologia…"

"Natsu always told me that Igneel was a gentle dragon", Lisanna added in to contradict what Gray was saying.

"Well, excuse me for not being gentle", a voice said behind them. Lucy and Gray nearly had a heart attack as the medical woman appeared out of nowhere.

"Porlyusica, you scared us", Lucy laughed nervously.

"I suppose I shouldn't hide it from you. I'll tell right now, I am a genuine human; I am not the Grandine you are looking for", Wendy looked at the elder woman with disappointment, but she knew she was right. "I actually don't have anything to do with the dragons, so I don't know where they are", Porlyusica paused for a minute before continuing. "I assume you have been to Edolas right? The world parallel to ours? I have heard you have met with your counterparts as well, correct?"

"W-wait, You can't mean…" Lisanna said, putting the 'puzzle' together.

"Yes. I am the Grandine of Edolas. I was lost and ended up stranded her years ago", up to this point Lisanna, Lucy and Gray all had their eyes popping out of their heads and was taken back from this information.

"What in the world?!" Gray yelled out of pure shock.

"I was going to ask Makarov to help me get back. But I grew to like it here, so I ended up staying".

"Edo-Grandine", Carla was just as shock as the others were.

"So she's a human over there as well?" Happy said to no one in particular.

"Wait, so does that mean that there is a human Igneel and Metalicana over there as well?' the platinum-haired mage asked Porlyusica.

"No, that is what I am not sure of", she said before turning to the bluenette of the group. "But…I have talked to the sky dragon", said added, getting Wendy's attention. She reached into her cloak to get something. "Not in person of course, but we connected through magic. I took the liberty of writing down some sky magic she told me", she took out a stack of papers and gave them to Wendy. "**Sky Drill** and **Milky Wave**, are the two secret dragon art techniques she failed to teach to teach you". Wendy looked at the papers in surprised.

"Grandine left this…for me?"

"Those techniques are extremely difficult. Be careful or, you'll end up regretting it". The pink-haired woman warned before walking away. Wendy ran a little close to her and bowed down.

"Thank you…Grandine", the young dragon wizard ran off with her friends, leaving Porlyusica alone, who was currently smiling t the girl's words.

"Alright! Let's head towards the town entrance to meet up with Erza. You told her where we were going, right Lucy?'

"No! I thought you told her", the blonde mage said.

"No! I thought you did it".

"…"

"OH CRAAAAAAAAP!" both mages ran like hell towards the entrance to the city, leaving behind Lisanna, Wendy and the two exceeds.

"Wow, they are really terrified of her", she sweat dropped at how fast they were running.

"Aye!"

"Don't remind me", the sky dragon slayer shuddered. "She evil".

* * *

Later…

"WHERE IN THE BLAZES WERE YOU TWO?!" Erza, who was currently accompanied by team Shadow Gear and Juvia gave her team mates a death glare that sent a shiver down their spines.

"We did…stuff", Lucy said while avoiding eye contact with the armor mage.

"Now,now Erza. Don't yell at them", Levy said, attempting to calm her friend down. The redhead noticed Lisanna was with them and wondered why.

"Lisanna, your siblings left a while ago. What happened?"

"I told them I was going to accompany you guys. I hope that 's not causing trouble".

"Not at all. We love the extra company. Now let us get going. We have a long three months ahead of us!" Erza announced as she began to drag her luggage behind her.

"Right!" the rest of the party picked up the luggage and walked behind her and engaged in conversation. As they headed towards their destination, they looked forward to conquering the grand magic games.

(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**Wow…finally finished. Sorry if it took so long to update, but like I said in chapter three, I can't promise when I'll update so hang in there guys. Just recently, I saw some video clips of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. For those who don't know, Akira Toriyama made it this time and it turned out to be a huge success. The movie only came out in Japan so far, but we will see a northern release soon in about a year. I'm going to say right now, Goku is official OP. I'm not going to say why, but when you watch it, you'll understand. With that aside, stay tuned for the next chapter. See you soon. Ja-Ne! **

**-HeartlessAngel96**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Three Months Gone to Waste

After traveling for a while, Team Natsu, Team Shadow Gear, Juvia, Lisanna and the exceeds had finally reached their destination. For the next three months, they would be on a trip to the beach. There, they would train to their hearts content and increase their magic levels to make up for the last seven years that they slacked off of. All they could think about was conquering the other guilds, but what's a vacation without a little relaxation. Once the group arrived at the beach, the girls immediately changed into their swimsuits and ran for the ocean.

"Hey Erza, we're here to train, not play", Carla reminded.

"Yeah, to train", Happy repeated.

"This is coming from the cats with the scuba gear on", Droy retorted.

"Come on, guys. What's a trip to the beach without a little relaxation", Erza made a chibi face as she went for a swim.

"Yeah, but aren't we supposed to be training?"

"We'll train, don't worry", Jet turned to see Juvia hiding behind a tree, who had a shade of crimson upon her cheeks.

"Juvia, why are you hiding behind a tree, and more importantly, why are your eyes...heart-shaped?"

"OOOH! Watching a tanned Gray-Sama is soooooo hot!" the speed mage looked over to see Gray lying on a beach chair with sunglasses and a glass of ice-cold lemonade in his hand.

"Well...isn't someone enjoying himself", he sweat dropped at the sight of the ice mage. Over by the seashore, Lucy and Levy were tossing a beach ball back and forth while Wendy sat up against a rock and attempted to read the notes Porlyusica gave her.

"Emmm...How do you read this?" Lucy and Levy tossed around the beach ball until the celestial mage noticed her team was the one present.

"Wait...where is the rest of the guild? Are they coming by later?" Lucy questioned why they were the only ones present.

"No, actually they all went separate ways", Levy answered. "Laxus and the thunder god tribe went north of Magnolia, Lisanna's siblings and Cana went south of the city, as for everyone else, I'm not sure".

"What about Gajeel and Panther Lily?" Carla asked.

"We haven't seen them since yesterday", the blue exceed added in.

"I bumped into them the day before. He said that he and Lily are going somewhere for special training. I wanted to go with him, but he said no, this ain't no place for small fry", the bluenette puffed her cheeks in anger. "What a jerk. He could have just said no".

"You wanted to go with him. Hoh hoh, Levy-Chan, how naughty of you", the celestial mage teased.

"S-s-stop teasing me Lu-Chan", Levy's cheek grew bright red as she playfully splashed he friend with water. Gray, who was still lying on the beach chair, has fallen asleep only to be woken up with a beach ball to the face. He looked up to see a white-haired woman standing over him.

"Ow, what the hell, Lisanna?"

"Come on Gray. Get up and go have fun with your friends instead of sleeping here being a couch potato" she said , throwing the beach ball again at Gray's face, only to have caught.

"Why you!" Lisanna screamed playfully as she ran away from the ice mage. They both ran into the water and started a splash fight.

"Jeez, this isn't the point of this trip", Jet said before something got they're attention. As the girls were playing, their…er…assets were bouncing around. Some perverted thoughts went through jet and Droy's mind and they ogled the swimsuit beauties. For them, this was a dream come true. Why waist an opportunity to see gorgeous women run around with very little clothing. "Well…I guess we can let them off the hook this time, it's only the first day", he retorted.

"Yeah…lets enjoy this", the plant mage had the same face as his friend. Later that afternoon, the team went from a playful, carefree mood to downright serious as they all split up for the remainder of the day and began their intense training. For starters, Lucy practiced on channeling her energy.

"Focus on enhancing your spiritual control so you can raise your magic volume, and remember, control your magic supply", Capricorn, one of the twelve zodiac spirits explained to his master. "Feel the earth with your skin, synchronize your breathing with nature", Lucy took a deep breath and started to release her magic. A small circle of sand and wind formed around the celestial mage as she concentrated. "You're doing well, Lucy-Sama, just keep on concentrating on releasing your energy". Seeing her struggle with her magic control, he gave more advice. "Put more power into it. I know it's difficult to withstand, but go as far as you can. The blonde mage did as she was told and released her magic power even more. Not being able to withstand the pressure, she finally collapsed on the sandy floor, panting and exhausted. "you are making solid progress, Lucy-Sama".

"(Pant) (Pant) Capricorn, do anything about the 'One Magic'?" Lucy asked in between pants.

"The source where all magic lies. Yes, that is what Master Hades was after long ago",

"Is that why he wanted to create the world of magic?"

"Partially yes", the blonde mage sat in discomfort.

"Capricorn…If you had to choose between the world of magic and our world, which would you choose?"

"…It all depends on how you see both worlds. For me however, the world of magic would bring catastrophic results. Magic isn't the answer at times", Lucy smiled at the goat spirit's answer, knowing what he was going to say.

"Well…If you ask me, violence and deception is the way of magic".

"Lucy-Sama…"

"The strongest isn't **God Slayer magic**,** re-quip**, or even a** Unison Raid**. Just like mom said, the strongest type of magic comes from the heart, for me love is the strongest type of magic there is", Capricorn smiled at his master. That is what he expected from the daughter of Layla Heartfilia.

"You are becoming more like your mother every day, Lucy-Sama. Layla would be very proud if she saw you right now".

"No…..she already is proud", the celestial mage put her hand on her chest and smiled. She knew her mother was proud of her the day she was born".

"Come on; let us continue with your training".

"Hai!" For the rest of the day, the members of Fairy Tail trained with determination. Juvia using the sea to increase her magic power, Lisanna and Levy engaged in a sparring match against Gray, Erza testing the force and power of her swords by cutting paths in the ocean, and Wendy using Levy special Magic glasses to read the magic spells her mother left for her.

"Natsu…" Lisanna though as she continues her attack on Gray. "I will fight on…for you. I'll make you proud. Just you wait, we will come out on top again and we will do it in your honor", she attacked Gray fiercely and thinking about Natsu kept pushing her to move forward. She will always dedicate the fight for Natsu no matter what the cause. Later that night, after a long day of hard work, the group decided to go to the nearby hot spring next the hotel they were staying at.

"Juvia come on, we're all girls here".

"J-J-J-Juvia just wants to go back to the hotel", the water mage said as she hid behind a rock. Even after all these years, she was still was nervous about showing her body, even among girls. Meanwhile on the other side of the fence in the men's bath, perverted thoughts were made as Gray, Jet, and Droy (who was just following them) slowly made their way up to the little crack in the fence to sneak a peek at the girls' naked bodies.

"Heh, Get ready, girls", the ice mage of the group grew a perverted smile as her crept closer to the peephole.

"Hey man, don't go alone", Jet followed close behind.

"Uuuuugh…I think I ate too much", Droy followed while covering his mouth to prevent himself from regurgitating. Unaware of the boys' scheme, the girls continued to enjoy the heat of the spring as it soothed away the pain of their workout.

"Aaah, this is heaven right now", Lisanna said as she sat in a corner of the hot spring.

"Why is Happy here?!" Levy yelled covering her topless chest so the male cat couldn't see.

"Because I'm a cat!"

"Taking a hot bath sure is relieving after a long day of training, as well as easing the mind", Erza said as she unwrapped her towel to reveal her naked and slender body. Wendy, who was sitting across from her, went wide-eyed at how remarkable her body was and blushed out of jealously when she saw the scarlet-haired woman's chest.

'T-t-t-they're so huge!' the Sky Maiden thought as she looked down at her own chest and had a disappointed look on her face. "My breasts are only average, I can never complete with her", the Sky maiden sighed in defeat as she lowered herself into the water so that it covered her nose.

"Guys, look up in the sky, a meteor shower!" Lucy shouted out. The girls' attention was brought to the starry night sky as they smile in awe and the beautiful cosmic light show conquered the world around them. "I wonder if the others can see what we're seeing right now". Surely enough; she was right. All over Fiore, the other fairy mages saw the spectacle taken place. Every one of them was burning with determination as they looked towards the future in hope of conquering the opponents in the games. "We all have to put all of our effort into this tournament", the rest of the girls smiled, but one of them wasn't smiling at the blonde's words. Lisanna looked up at the sky not because it was beautiful, but because she wished to see a glimpse of her beloved. This reminded her of when she and Natsu would often go out a night and watched the stars together; and all those times, she wished that she could have told him how she felt about her. She closed her eyes and dreamed of her Natsu…pulling her close to him and whispering how much he loved her and then claiming her lips with a solid kiss.

"Natsu…" She said quietly to the sky so that no one can hear her. "If you're watching us from the heavens right now…I just want you to know…that…I love you…and I always have. I got those last butts up and now we're competing in the games. I'll tell you right now…I'm not doing it for the sake of the guild…I'm doing it for you. I really wish you were here with me…Natsu. I wish you could be here to hold me tight in your arms…and never let me go; and tell me how much I meant to you". Lisanna put her hand on her bare chest as she continued to look at the night sky. "Heh, now only if had the courage to tell you back then, maybe things would've been different", she said with a sad smile.

"Who's there?!" the scarlet-haired mage yelled as she threw three of her swords at the nearby fence, snapping everybody out of thought.

"Erza, what's wrong?" Lucy asked in nervousness as she quickly wrapped a towel around her body.

"Someone might be attempting to spy in us".

"Must be Gray and the boys", Happy retorted.

"How dare they spy on us", Levy said while blushing in embarrassment and gave a blank face.

"How shameless!" Wendy added.

"Gray-Sama would never do that!" Juvia yelled while finally come out of the water.

'Wow, someone is overprotective of her man' the platinum haired beauty sweat dropped at the water mage's reaction.

"Well, if it is Gray and the others, why don't we have them join us?" the armor mage said with a smile as she walked over to the fence.

"OH HELL NO!" the girls squealed in protest. On the other side of the fence, three male mages sat with Band-Aids on their foreheads.

"Never…again".

"Expect the stripper to get us killed"

"Ooooooh…"

"DROY, HOW DO YOU GET YOUR ASS HURT?!"

* * *

Later that night in Aqualonia, N, Conner, Icis, and Mizuki all sat on a hill just outside the city. From there, you can see the entire town and it's dazzling lights. The group usually goes there to hang out and to be away from the craziness of the town. N was currently engaging in conversation with Conner with the head of a sleeping Icis in his lap as well as Conner with Mizuki sleeping on his lap with her head against his chest and the fingers intertwined with each other. "Conner, if you keep drinking those smoothies, you'll end up getting a stomach virus".

"I can't help it man, I just love these things", Conner said while taking a sip. For a while, N noticed that Conner wanted to ask him something but was cautious.

"(Sigh) Conner, if there is anything you want to ask me, just say it", Conner felt a little uneasy, but he knew he can rely on someone like N.

"N, I've been meaning to ask you…"

"About what?"

"What was life like before you joined Fairy Tail?" not expecting that question be asked N, let out a sigh.

"If you don't want to answer, it's ok-".

"No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting that question. Before Fairy Tail…, my life was horrible. I had no one to turn to and I was alone", the red-clothed mage put his hand on his right eye, which was still covered by his trademark hood. "Because of my power, I felt like on one could understand my pain…" as N went on, the Gothic mage just sat there in shock. At the end of the story, Conner couldn't believe someone had to live through what N went through. He thought his past was worse, but now N's past was a nightmare compared to his.

"How did you live through all that?"

"Dunno I just did", N said bluntly.

"When you remembered you originally belonged in Fairy Tail, why didn't you go back?"

"Well, I have two reasons. One I felt like they wouldn't accept me and two; I made friends with you guys. I couldn't let you guys down, so I decided to stay". Though Conner wasn't showing it, he actually felt happy that N said that".

"Thank you N. That really means a lot to me…and Icis".

"Why, if I may ask?"

"Well…when Icis and I were kids, our birth parents abandoned us and then we were separated the day after. If it weren't for our foster parents; we would have never survived. I won't lie, I was really scared of being alone".

"How old were you guys when you were separated?"

"I was ten and Icis was seven ".

"Wow", N said with a surprised expression of his face. "I know you had it hard, but I can't imagine how much it affected Icis. Must be hard to feel so scared of being alone at a very young age".

"Yeah…but fate brought us together once again. We found each other when our foster parents were killed and since then, we haven't let each other out of our sites ever since", at this point Conner was about to break down in tears. '

"Icis told me that both of your adoptive parents died at the same time, who killed them?"

"I don't know, but whoever it was hid his face so I couldn't see", Conner gritted his teeth out of anger. All he wanted to do was kill that bastard. If there was one thing that would someone as calm as Conner to fly off the handle was bringing up his father's death. He was forced to watch as that… "monster' killed his foster father; fortunately for him, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder as N calmed him down.

"Conner listen…" the hooded mage said softly to his 'brother'. "There are things in life humans should never witness. I know what it's like to go without parental love…and I also know what it's like to have someone you love die in front of your eyes. You're not alone Conner. I'm here, the guild's here…and you have someone who is willing to stay by your side at all times". N pointed his head at Mizuki, who was still asleep on her boyfriend's shoulder with a bliss smile. Conner felt all of his sadness slip away when he looked at the crimson-haired angel he fell in love with. Because of her, he was finally able to smile, something he hadn't done years, knowing he found the right person for him. As he looked down at her, he let up a smile of happiness and peace. "See. What did I tell you?"

"Thank you N…that really…means a lot", the black-clothed mage said softly while trying to hide the smile of happiness on his face. A slight breeze blew through all of the mages' hair. The two boys heard some shivering from the red-haired woman.

"Getting cold, Mizuki?"

The crimson beauty lightly opened her eyes, hearing Conner's worry in his voice. "Yeah…just a little, honey", without hesitating Conner swiftly took of his coat and put it around her as it seemed to warm her up. "Thank you bunny, you're so thoughtful" she said lovingly as she quickly kissed her beloved on the cheek and fell back to sleep.

"Phmf; 'bunny'", N said, trying to hold back his laughter, knowing Conner did not being call 'bunny' , at least in front of his friends or in public in general.

"Ahh Shut up! At least I have girlfriend" Conner said while playfully sounded mad. The two started to laugh, which is really something they only did with each other. The guild nor did their teammates made them laugh like this. This was something only two brothers could share and with each other. N and Conner were practically family and that would even make Mizuki jealous they share a relationship like that. Hell, the female members of their guild would often tease them about being gay for each other. The two guys stopped their laughter when they heard Icis talking in her sleep. They knew what she was talking about by the perverted smile on her face.

"Oh N…be gentle with me…please, don't stop…AHH! Don't, that's too hard…oh you're such a horny beast in the morning", as she continued for a few more seconds before finally stopping, N and Conner sweat dropped at the woman's words. N felt really uncomfortable since the perverted dream was about him.

"You know…your sister act all innocent and mature in front of people, but deep down; she is a really big pervert", N retorted.

"Please…don't remind me. I have to live with her you know. imagine having to listen to all that nasty talk all night", Conner dropped his head in shame and disgust.

* * *

The next morning, the members of Fairy Tail were up early, had breakfast and got were getting ready for another day of training. "Ahh, this sure is a beautiful day, today", Gray said as he smelled the fresh air and soaked in the sunrays.

"If we keep going the way we're going, our power will increase in no time", Lisanna said while stretching her limbs out.

"You know, I really thought that three months was short, but at the rate we're going; three months is like extra time. Lucy said to Happy.

"Aye!"

"Well, let's not waist our time chit-chatting, let's get started", Wendy said with a fist pump. Out of nowhere, a familiar head appeared under Lucy's butt.

"Princess, Emergency", a young woman with pink hair said from under the blonde.

Ahh! Virgo, what are you doing here?!"

"I'm ready for punishment".

"You".

"Maid Lady!" Happy shouted.

"Hey, who is that?" Lisanna whispered while she nudged Levy.

"Virgo is one of Lucy's celestial spirits", the bluenette answered.

"Virgo what's wrong"

"It's…really nothing…princess", the spirit maid said while looking down to the ground.

"Obviously it's something if you came out of nowhere like it. Now spit it up". More silence filled the air around the group and Virgo hesitated to answer her master's question.

"…"

"Virgo?"

"…the Celestial Realm is on the verge of extinction", the entire group gasped in shock at the news that was brought to them.

"What happened? I just did a mission with you the other day. How can your world be endangered"?

"The king of the Celestial Realm is waiting for you. I am here to pick you up". Virgo bowed down in respect. Despite her situation, she still showed great respect for her master. A large magic circle formed around the group. A bright light started to form as they began to disappear.

"Wait, I thought humans aren't allowed in the Celestial Realm", Lucy squealed from within the light show under their feet. The group of mages screamed as the light from the magic taking place stung their eyes as they were transported to the Celestial realm, leaving Jet and Droy behind.

"Why were we left behind?"

"Well…aren't we loved", the plant mage said in pain. It didn't take long for the fairy mages to be transported to the Celestial Realm; however, instead of landing on their feet, they ended up falling on each other with a hard thud on the hard floor.

"Ow…is everyone alright?" Lisanna said in pain as she rubbed her butt that landed on the floor.

"Aye…" Happy said weakly.

"Ow…that hurt"

"Yeah"

"I'm…okay"

"I think I broke something", Gray said from underneath his stalker.

"Thank for breaking my fall Gray-sama". The water mage with heart-shaped eyes. After dusting their selves off, they finally looked around their environment and was shocked at their results.

"W-w-wow…" Gray said disbelief.

"This is the Celestial Realm?" Lucy said to no one in particular. As many times as she called on her spirits, she always wondered what their world looked and sure enough; it was breathtaking. The Celestial Realm looked like a world combined with a blend of cosmic beauty and a world out of a fantasy story.

"Wow! It's so amazing" Wendy said in awe. She looked like a kid who was taken to her favorite candy shop.

"Wow! This goes even beyond what I imagined", the youngest take-over mage said in delight. Then noticed that her clothing had changed from her swimwear she previously had on. She wore a fancy, elegant blue dress with gold frills and silver bracelets. For leg wear, she wore matching knee high stocking with black dress shoes. "My clothes, they've changed", she said in wonder.

"I just remember now. Supposedly, Virgo told me that humans cannot enter the Celestial Realm unless they are wearing clothes made specifically from here", the celestial mage answered Lisanna's question. Just up above the mages' heads, a cloud of stars and dust appeared and out came a familiar giant man with a big gray mustache.

"Welcome to my realm", the Spirit King greeted his visitors.

"W-Who the heck is that?" Lisanna shouted with her eyes popping out of her head.

"Big guy!"

"Mustache!" Happy yelled.

"So, you're the king of this world?" Erza asked the humongous sized man as if she see people that big everyday.

'Why so calm?!' Levy and Wendy thought in unison with big eyes as they were shocked at the armor mage's expression in this situation.

"Spirit King, what has happened to this realm? Why is it on the verge of extinction?!" Lucy demanded answers, but still showed respect for the king.

"….." the Spirit King gave a serious face. Just before Lucy was about to ask another question, the king's facial expression went form a serious one to a happy one as he gave a big smile which confused the mages. Hehehehe…HHAHAHAHAHA! Lucy and her friends, Worry no more. We welcome you to our wonderful lad. Now let's us party!" the king shouted as all of Lucy's spirits came out and cheered. Every single mage present has the 'what the f**k face' they stood there with a blank expression as they took time to process what they just heard. Lucy then turned to Virgo for an answer.

"The verge of…extinction?"

"Heh heh", the maid spirit smiled at her mater sheepishly.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Lucy yelled with her eyes popping out of her head.

"Mooo-Sorry for tricking you, Lucy-Sama", Taurus, the cow spirit apologized.

"Yes, sorry for the inconvenience", Capricorn added in.

"We all wanted to have a party with you, but we all couldn't go to the human world at once".

"So we decided to bring you all here. Sorry", Aries, the ram spirit apologized just like she always does.

"We promised we won't do it again".

"We wanted you to relax since you guys are getting ready for the Grand Magic Games", Gemi, the twin spirit said.

"Yeah!", Mini added in.

"Alright! I see your point. You guys did scare us with your whole crisis thing though", Gray said as he hooked his arm around Sagittarius's shoulder.

"Moshi moshi!"

"Enough with the chit-chat, let's party!" everyone cheered as they talked and ate to their heart's content.

"How's it going, man?' Gray asked as he fist pounded Loke, the lion spirit and leader of the zodiac spirits.

"Everything is good, you?"

"So, I hear you're the one who once shared magic with Lucy", Aquarius, "The Water Bearer spirit said to Juvia who was sitting at a nearby table. She was referring to he time both girls performed a **Unison Raid** at the Tower of Heaven.

"What?"

"You got a boyfriend?" the water spirit went on.

"No…." Juvia admitted while a steam of comical smoke appeared over her head.

"Come on! Do you really want to end up like Lucy", Aquarius insulted.

"Umm…what's that supposed to mean?' Lucy asked feeling offended.

"Oh Lucy, being single isn't so bad", Lisanna said, comforting the blonde, but took it back when she realized something. 'What am I saying?! I'm only twenty-four and I still haven't had a man touch me! Well, technically only Natsu was able to touch me, but it still sucks!' she curled up into a ball and sat in the nearest corner, and whispered some depressing words which sounded 'forever alone'.

"What happened to all your happiness just now?" the celestial mage sweat dropped as she slowly inched away and made her way towards Levy, who was currently with "The Southern Cross" spirit Crux.

"Wow!" Levy's eyes sparkled at the collection of books the Celestial Realm had to offer.

"Yes, we have quite the collection. If you want, you can take one with you back to the human world", Crux stated.

"Really?!" her eyes sparkled even more with delight then went into pure shock as Crux fell asleep on her. "He's sleeping?!" she shouted in surprise.

"Don't worry, he just thinking", Lucy answered. While Happy and Carla were getting run over by a horde of Plues, Taurus was up to his perverted antics as usual.

"MOOO! Erza-San, your boobs are as beautiful as ever", he exclaimed with heart-shaped eyes. "Can you please open your arms to let me in?" he asked while shaking his big cow butt from side-to-side.

"Why?" the scarlet mage asked, still not catching on to what the perverted cow was asking her to do.

"I don't like that spirit", Levy whispered to Wendy while cover her chest with her arms,

"Me neither", Wendy agreed, doing the same thing. Now that Lisanna finished her 'depressed moment', she sat with Lucy next to the Spirit King as she continued to look in awe of the Celestial Realm.

"This place is really amazing", she said smiling.

"Yes, we rarely get visitors here. I've heard you motivated the entire guild to compete in the games, even after everything that happened. You really are something young lady", the giant king complimented the platinum-haired beauty.

"Thank you".

"Now that I think about it, where is the pink-haired man that is usually with you Lucy?" both girls stayed quiet for a few moments which notified what had happened to Natsu.

"He's…he's…"

"It's alright I'm sure he is in a better place".

"Yeah…I know", Lisanna said with a sad smile. The area got quiet as Lyra, "The Lyre" spirit began to play a beautiful melody on her harp and she began to play.

**_~My old friends, I can see you_**

**_My old friends, I swear I'll never make you cry_**

**_Let's make our way, through the broad_**

**_Will road_**

**_Into the future…with tears_**

**_I'll shine like…a star for you_**

**_I'll make the sweetest smile, just_**

**_To sing a song for you_**

Such a beautiful song would make anyone feel happy, however Lisanna was having mixed emotions she was shedding tears of happiness and pain. The happiness was having so many friend that cared so much for her and can depend on, but the tears of pain was from remembering that the man she loved was no longer with her. Despite the little joke she said earlier, she still was sad that Natsu wasn't alive and that she had to accept it. The song Lyra sung reminded her of the lullabies she would often sing to Natsu to soothe him to sleep. 'Natsu…..why….why…why did you have to die? Why did you leave me alone…?' Lisanna continued to cry as thought of her beloved filled her head.

"Lisanna?" the white-haired woman turned to see Lucy with tears of her own.

"Oh, it's nothing", she lied. Lucy saw through her lies.

"Lisanna, it's okay. Natsu would be happy to see that you still having pride in the guild", nodding in agreement, the two girls continued to talk about whatever they were talking about. It still hurts to think about Natsu, but Lisanna knew that she was being watched by the man she will always have room for in her heart. After a little more partying, the group decided it was time to head back to the human world. The group said their final goodbyes as they stepped into the magic circle.

"Well, that sure was fun".

"Those two sure got along quickly", Carla looked in the direction of Juvia and Aquarius getting along.

"Oh my, you poor child" Aquarius said.

"Arigatou, Aquarius-San".

"Arigatou, Crux-San", Levy thanked.

"Thank you for the song, Lyra-Chan".

"My friends of Fairy Tail, thank you for coming and we all wish you the best of luck in the Grand Magic Games", the spirit king said. The fairy mages waved goodbye and the magic circle under them started to light up. All the spirits disappeared into strands of magic and left the mages at the entrance to the Celestial Realm.

"Lucy", Lisanna began. "I love your friends already".

"Yeah…they're really great".

"All right, once we get back to the beach, we get back right to training", the group agreed.

"Oh, Princess, there is something I forgot to mention, time here in the Celestial Realm is different", the maid spirit revealed.

"You mean that one year here is equivalent to one day in the human world", Gray said sounded happy.

"Then that means that this place is the best training zone", Lisanna added.

"Actually, it's the opposite. One day here equal to three months in the human realm". When Virgo finished, the group ended up back on the beach and they stood there with black faces. The wind blew through their hair as they stared off into the distance.

"There you guys are, we've been looking for you", Jet said.

"The games are only five days away, I bet you guys trained like crazy", Jet added in. Lisanna, Gray, and Erza fell face first into the sand.

"WE'RE FINISHED!" Wendy began to comically cry.

"Mustache bastard, give us back our time", Lucy yelled to the air, though it was obvious who she was yelling at. No progress has been made. It only a matter of time before the Grand Magic Games start.

(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**Finally finished. I'm sorry I went M.I.A. for so long, but like I said before, I can't promise when I update, so bear with me. Worry not though, I will not give up on this story. The Grand Magic Games are coming soon, the action will began shortly so hold out guys. While I'm here, I'd like to say something. Guys the reviews, I know I take long to update, but please send me comments. I actually love reading what you guys have to say about my story. So please send more reviews than what I've been getting. I even get inspire to continue writing and I can even use what you guys suggest I should use so, keep those reviews coming in. i'd like to add in one other thing, the song in this chapter isn't official and foe those who think it was a waste of time, i agree, but i felt like i had to do it. well, I guess that's it for next time. Next chapter coming soon. Ja-Ne!**

**-HeartlessAngel96**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Power Darker Than Zeref?!

**-**_**Lamia Scale-**_

"The Grand Magic Games are approaching", Obaba, the master of Lamia Scale said. "We always come in second place every year. This is preposterous, it ludicrous!" she yelled as she began to swing her hands in a circular motion. "Not anymore. Jura, Lyon, you two are going to compete and that's final!"

"Well…if master says so, then we can't refuse; right Jura?" Lyon, an ice mage and childhood rival of Gray said.

"A festival every once and a while isn't so bad. Sure, I don't see why not", Jura, of the ten wizard saints exclaimed.

"Jura and Lyon are both competing at the same time!" some random members shouted. "We'll definitely win for sure!"

-_**Blue Pegasus-**_

"So, Jura is going to participate this year?" Bob, the master of Blue Pegasus asked.

"Yes. This epidemic is going to make some nasty perfume", Ichiya, the ace of the guild said.

"And her we thought we had a chance to win. Maybe it's time for us to get out the big guns".

_**-Raven Tail-**_

"I have waited seven years for this moment", Ivan Dreyar, the master of Raven Tail said with excitement. "The time to pass judgment on those fairies and paint them black has finally come. Makarov, you're going to get what 's coming to you", he finished with a maniacal laughter.

* * *

On to our heroes, the members of Fairy Tail laid against a vacant nearby shack. Depressed as they were, they didn't know what to do.

"How… did we end up like this?" Erza asked to no one in particular.

"All of our precious time…" Gray continued.

"Just flashed by right in front of her eyes", Lisanna finished. They all sat with a blank face as they slumped in defeat.

"If I may make a suggestion, master", Virgo said out of nowhere. "Please, give me more punishment", she demanded as she sat on her legs on a bumpy board and three heavy bricks piled up on her lap.

"Just go back home". Lucy sweat dropped at her spirit's weird desires.

"I guess we're just going to have to let the others fight again", Levy pointed out and Juvia sighed in defeat.

"Alas, the gap between Panther Lily and I has widened once more", Happy said with a tear in his eye.

"Eh?"

"You actually cared about that?" Carla retorted.

"Wait, you guys mean to tell me you didn't get stronger at all?" Jet said sounded surprised.

"The Grand Magic Games is only in five days. You have to have made some sort of achievement", Droy added in as he chowed down on a watermelon.

"We'll it looks like we're unable to compete in our current state. You guys are going to have to take our place". Levy told her personal team.

"And here I thought we had a chance to prove ourselves to the crowd",

"No! We can still put up a fight. If we start train seriously now and for the next five days, we'll achieve something", Lisanna shouted as she made a confident fist pump.

"Lisanna is right!" Erza shouted, alarming the group. "From this moment on, we'll do a five-day crash training from hell! Get your asses in gear. There won't be a moments rest until we're done!" She announced as a huge comical fire burned behind her.

"Sheesh, all I said is we should start training now, I said nothing about hell training", the platinum-haired woman started to shake out of fright. She was finally starting to understand as to why Erza's team was afraid of her.

"Eeek!" Lucy squealed in fright.

"We are so dead!"

"Somebody help us!" Wendy screamed as she was waving her arms up and down. Out of nowhere, a white pigeon landed on Erza's head.

"Erza look, there something on its leg", Gray notified the armor mage and held the bird so that the attachment could be taken off. Revealing that the attachment on the pigeon's leg was a note, Erza opened it up and read it.

_To Fairy Tail: _

_Come to the old suspension bridge at the deep end of the forest. We shall meet you there._

The group hesitated for a little bit, but finally gave in and decided to head in the forest. As the group walked by, they did not see a single person in sight. "There isn't a soul in sight. Are you sure we should be doing this, Erza?" Lisanna broke the silence.

"Even I'm starting to regret coming here", Erza answered as they walked.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. Let's head back", Lucy suggested.

"Lucy is right. I'm starting to get under the impression that this is a prank", gray added in.

"Let's just walk up to the bridge before we decide anything". The group agreed as they continued to the suspension bridge. As soon as they arrived, there was still no person in sight.

"So, now what?" the take-over mage asked. Out of nowhere, the bridge started to repair it self as all the discarded wood that was rotting and chips that fell below started to fit together like a puzzle. Once finished, the bridge was spec and span, as it looked brand new. "W-what the…" Lisanna was surprised by what she just saw that she didn't even finish.

"This must be our invitation", the scarlet beauty said with a serious face.

"I'm not sure about this Erza. We may be walking into a trap", Levy said.

"Are you sure we should cross?" Gray added in.

"Whatever it is, we must be ready for it. Let's meet whoever this is and get it over with", agreeing with her, the team crossed the repaired bridge. After a minute of walking, the group noticed three figures walking towards them. The bundle of mages took a defensive stance.

"Who the hell are you?" the raven-haired man said as prepared his ice magic.

"You picked the wrong day to annoy us", Lisanna exclaimed as she prepared her magic.

"Reveal yourselves at once!" Erza yelled at the trio of hooded beings.

"Thank you for coming…." The middle figure started as all three of the newcomers started to remove their hoods to reveal their selves. "Fairy Tail", once all the hoods were removed, the group of fairies were in a state of shock at the sight of a familiar raven-haired woman with a glass orb in his hands, a short woman with long pink hair, and the most shocking was a blue-haired young man with a tattoo on the right side of his face.

"J-J-Jellal….?"

"Ultear...?"

"No way", Lucy said in shock.

"Weren't you imprisoned?" Lisanna had nudged Lucy to get her attention.

"Who's that?"

"Jellal was a wanted fugitive that helped us during the Nirvana mission seven years ago. He's actually not as bad as the magic council makes him up to be".

'Oh great, you guys are associated with criminals', Lisanna thought to herself. 'If we get caught, I'm not with you guys'.

"You haven't changed a bit, Erza", Jellal said to his childhood friend.

"Y-y-yes, so it seems..." Erza went down memory lane as she remembered what was said a few years ago.

_Flashback – Three Years __Ago_

"Erza!" Erza was walking, minding her own business when a male voice interrupted. She turned to see who it was that stopped her.

"Alzack, Bisca, what brings you here?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"No. Unfortunately, I haven't. What is it about?" she asked.

"You fri-", the male gun mage was cut off by his wife.

"Honey, I don't really think this is right for her to know just yet", Bisca said with a worried look on her face.

"She has to know".

"Guys, what are talking about?" the Connell's looked at each other with guilt and stayed quiet for a few seconds, knowing what they were going to say wasn't going to be to Erza's liking.

"Your friend Jellal has escaped from prison". The armor mage's eyes widened for two reasons. One because her friend, whom she grew up with and committed so many crimes, had escape prison. Two, was the fact that someone was able to escape a high security such as the magic council prison. She tilted her head down as her hair covered her eyes.

"I-I-I see".

"Sorry for bringing this up", Alzack apologized.

"No, no, it's okay. Excuse me, guys", the scarlet mage said she silently walked away.

"Man, I haven't seen her this bent out of shape since Natsu's death".

"Well, can we blame her?" the female gun mage said.

_Flashback end_

"I assume you broke yourself out?" Erza asked the bluenette.

"Actually, it was Meredy and I who broke him out", Ultear corrected.

"I didn't do a thing. You broke him out yourself". The pink-haired woman contradicted.

"Meredy?!" Juvia said in a state of shock of the pink-haired woman in front of her. Meredy heard her and simply turned and smiled at the water mage.

"Juvia. It's been a while!"

'She has finally learned how to smile', Juvia thought to herself as she smiled.

"Wait...Jellal escaped from prison?"

"I have committed many sins throughout my life"; the raven-haired woman began. "Even if I spent an eternity trying to atone for my actions, I feel as if it still won't be enough. So...I thought the least I can do is save as many people as I can. Take Jellal her for example",

"I have gone through the same path, Ultear. We're pretty much in the same boat", something clicked in Erza's head when Jellal finished his sentence.

"Wait. Then you..."

"Yes I remember. Every. Last. Detail.", Erza went eye-wide. She never thought he would get his memory back. "It was six years ago when I got my memory back; and quite frankly, I don't know what to say".

"Please. Don't blame Jellal. I am responsible for what happened at the Tower of Heaven. It isn't his fault".

"..."

"It was either life in prison of the death penalty. I bet you can guess which one they chose for me. Then out of nowhere, Ultear and Meredy broke my out". Jellal said.

"So does that mean that you three have found a goal in life?" Lisanna said, finally saying something after staying quiet for the longest. Jellal gave her a confused face.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. What's your name?"

"Lisanna. Lisanna Strauss. Nice to meet you", she answered.

"The pleasure is all mine. To answer your question, I wouldn't call it a life goal. Instead, we have created a guild. It's neither an official guild nor a dark guild. We are an independent guild known as Crime Sorciere", the blue-haired mage said while all three mages revealed their guild marks.

"An independent guild?" Levy said in surprise.

"I've heard of Crime Sorciere..." Droy said. "From what I've heard, you guys are responsible for the destruction of several dark guilds throughout Fiore".

"Our only purpose is to..." Ultear began.

"Find and eliminate Zeref...as well as the other dark guilds that exist. We shall not allow the darkness to wreck the lives of innocent people while we exist", Jellal finished.

"How amazing!" the celestial mage said in awe.

"If that's the case then, why haven't you guys become an official guild?" the platinum-haired mage asked the trio.

"I'm still a wanted fugitive", Jellal scratched his head in embarrassment.

"And we're former Grimore Heart members", Meredy sheepishly smiled.

"Conflict between official guilds and dark guilds is forbidden. Creating an independent guild would be the proper solution".

"Jellal, we're getting off topic", the time mage reminded.

"Right, Sorry". Ultear turned to fairy Group.

"Well, self-introductions are not the reason we're here for. I assume you guys are participating in the Grand Magic Games. Yes?"

"Yes, that was the plan".

"Unfortunately, we can't go anywhere near the coliseum. We were wondering if you could do us a favor"

"What is the favor?" Erza asked

"Every year, we have been feeling a weird and creepy source of magical energy emitting from the arena. We wanted to ask if you can check it out for us". Ultear asked the armor mage.

"But other guilds are competing there as well. Isn't it natural to feel weird magic energy?" Gray asked his sisterly figure.

"Well, normally yes, but the magic we've been sensing matches identically to Zeref", the fairy mages went wide-eyed. They knew Zeref was the most powerful wizard alive, but they had no idea they he was close by. Usually when sensing someone's magic that usually results in that person being near.

"Are you saying that Zeref is alive?"

"No, at least not yet. We just want to see where the source is coming from".

"That doesn't mean we want you to lose focus on games. We will be supporting you guys from the dark". The sensor- link mage assured.

"I guess we could, but it sounds pointless to try", Erza said.

"Are you sure Erza? I mean really want to help them, but it sounds like a wild goose chase", Lisanna sounded cautious about the whole thing. Erza then noticed something that didn't make sense.

"Speaking of which. I wanted to ask you something. If you guys have been feeling this power for six years now, why is it that you are telling this to us now?" the three Sorciere mages are stunned by the question asked. They did sort of expect for that question to be asked.

Well, Ultear and Meredy had a strange looks on their faces. Feeling uncomfortable of the situation, they hesitated a little before continuing.

"W-well, you see..." the pink-haired woman didn't know how to respond to the problem.

"This isn't easy for us to say", the female ice mage said with a concerned face.

"Ultear, Meredy", the girls turned to see Jellal who had stayed quiet after all this time, call them with a straight face and his hand in a clenched fist. He knew Erza nor were the others not going to like what they had found out. "They need to know".

"Jellal, what are you talking about?" All three Sorciere mages stayed silent for a few minutes. It was like their mouths were stuck together with super glue. What they were going to say was going to change the way they looked about whatever it is they were keeping from them. After a few more seconds, Jellal finally broke the silence.

"The...reason we decided to tell you know was because we didn't have a problem with it...until now", Jellal said with a serious face.

"What do you mean?" the elemental mage stood silent for a moment.

"Three years ago, we've been sensing another type of power source", that got the group's attention. "That source...I swear I can't even describe it. After looking deeper into it...we found out that this power...is even worse than Zeref", everyone except the Sorciere mages grew faces of horror and shock, that didn't mean that Ultear and her guild didn't react. They clenched their fists as they looked down to the ground.

"H-h-how is something like that even possible?" Levy asked in fright. "I've read everything about him. Zeref was the strongest wizard alive. How can something be stronger and frightful than him?"

"That is what we wanted to know, Levy", the male bluenette said. "Due to the new power source, Ultear went to investigate where the power was coming from, but what we found...disturbed us".

"W-what are you saying?" Lisanna sounded worried and anxious.

"...We were able to pinpoint where that other source of evil power...and...we found out...that...that power…..belonged to Natsu". If that last part of Zeref wasn't enough, then this new information was taking a toll on our favorite bunch of mages. All of them started to sweat bullets and began to tremble with fear; even Gray was affected by the news. Was Natsu really the bearer of such a heinous and dreadful power? It just didn't sound like the Natsu Dragneel they know and loved. No. It just couldn't be. Natsu wouldn't have such power; would he? Lisanna couldn't take anymore she slowly fell to the ground and rested on her legs as she held her hands to the sides of her heads as she trembled with fright and stay wide-eyed. She did not want to think that the man that she fell for wielded such power

"P-p-p-please...please...please tell m-m-m-m-m-eee, t-t-t-that isn't true-e-e-e-e. P-p-pleaseeee, tell me", Lisanna was left stuttering with every word she said.

"I'm sorry. There is no way around it", Jellal said as he looked back down to the ground.

"No...I refuse...I refuse...it's not him...it's not him..." she started to cry as images of her beloved dragon slayer killing everyone in sight.

Erza who was baffled and frozen with fear snapped out of her trance as she glared at the Sorciere mages. "Don't lie to me dammit! You're telling me that after all these years we've known Natsu, he has had another source of energy inside of him and we never knew about it!"

"Erza please, don't-"

"That's bullcrap!" Gray yelled at the top of his lungs. "That's not the Natsu we all know!"

"Damn you, Jellal", the armor mage growled at the bluenette.

"We wanted to deny it too, Gray. But we did the math, that source matches Natsu' energy perfectly; not the mention that a hint of his dragon slayer magic lies within", Meredy felt guilty telling them this. She knew Natsu was like a brother to him. All the mages were still affected by the news. Now Crime Sorciere was regretting telling them the news.

"It still makes no sense! Natsu has been dead for seven years now! The only way to sense a person's magic source is for them to be alive!" Gray was still in rage of the news. "So you're saying Natsu's been alive for those years and haven't known about it yet?!"

"Well…that is a possibility…" Meredy muttered.

"Damn it…damn it…damn it…damn it".

"Natsu…." Levy muttered.

"N-n-no…this can't be true" Happy muttered in fright.

For about the next five minutes of silence and tears of fear, Jellal sighed, seeing how they weren't going anywhere. "Sorry for telling you this. We didn't realize that it would take this much of a tool on you guys. We'll come back tomorrow. Please give us you answer then" all the mages walked away from the group. Now they felt worse than they already did telling them about Natsu.

"Wait!" the trio stopped and turned to see Lisanna on her feet. Though tears of fear flooded her eyes, they were filled with anger and rage. It was obvious that she demanded answers, and the way she was looking at them, she wasn't going to take now for an answer. "I'll help you anyway I can. Just tell me what to do. I need to find out for myself". Finally putting the puzzle together, Jellal finally saw how much this woman cared for Natsu and wanted to prove them wrong.

"Lisanna, are you sure you want to do-".

"Yes I am" she said firmly.

"I see. If that's the case, you can't do it alone", the pink-haired mage said.

"Who said she is doing this alone", Levy said walking next to Lisanna".

"Levy…"

"I know Natsu is not that type of person. I want to prove them wrong". The take-over mage gave a serious face as she nodded.

"As will I", the scarlet beauty said.

"I'm not being left behind" seeing how all of the fairy mages wanted proof that Natsu was really the bearer of such a horrible power, Ultear smirked at their answer.

"Thank you, everyone", the female ice mage said with gratefulness. "We would do it ourselves, but we can't go near the arena. We shall repay you for your assistance".

"How?"

"By increasing your magic level, with my advanced **Arc of Time** magic", Ultear said as held out her glass orb. The fairy mages gave a confused face. Ultear simply smiled and went on to explain what she meant. "Ok, think of it like this; every wizard has a container inside of them, which determines the limit to one's magic level. Once that container is empty, the body is entirely worn out and unable to function", the raven-haired woman continued as the group looked at her with fascination. "As soon as the container is drained, the Ethranano in the air gradually fills the container until it is completely full and that source of power is ready for use. However, I stumbled upon a reading saying that there is a second source of power inside the wizard's body that can't be unlocked by regular magic training. This is known as "Second Origin". With your Second Origin released, you can last longer in battle and your magic level will increase dramatically", the group made a sound in surprise as they heard the "gift" they were going to receive.

"You mean?"

"Yes, I will unlock all of Your Second Orgins to put you on par with the other guilds", the fairy mages were happy with what they heard, knowing their power would increase after all. "However… you'll have to go through a world of pain", she finished with an evil smile and glowing yellow eyes.

"Your eyes", Levy muttered.

"You're really scary", Wendy added in.

"Thank you, Ultear", the armor mage thanked the female ice mage. "We are truly grateful for this assistance you are giving us and we will gladly help you in any way we can".

"You're very welcome, Erza. Now let's get started shall we?" Every mage present went to prepare for the awakening of the Second Origin. They were no longer filled with shock and fear, but with rage and determination. Though they were still a little shaky and scared about the new of Natsu possessing an evil source of power, they were still confident that the info was false and are willing to prove Jellal wrong.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lisanna screamed in pain as her awakening of her Second Origin took place. Gray and Lucy looked at the take-over mage with comical faces of fear as marks started to appear on her body.

"Um…..,I don't think I want to do this anymore" Gray said while looking at his friend roll around on the floor in pain. Why she chose to go first for the awakening process was beyond Gray's knowledge.

"So…..painful", Lucy shivered in fear.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lisanna screamed in louder as the marks started to grow bigger and erode her body. Her body looked like it was going through an exorcism.

"Come on guys", Ultear said. "It's easy to bring out one's true potential", she said as she applied more magic into her orb.

"Are…you sure about this?"

"How painful is it?" Gray wondered.

"Want to do a sense-link to find out", Meredy asked, earning "Hell no!" from Gray.

'Oh Meredy, I'm happy to see you've loosen up', Juvia thought to herself, remembering the kind young woman was a cruel, and murderous young girl when she was in Grimore Heart.

"d-d-do we really have to go through that", the script mage stuttered.

"I want to cry!" Wendy began to comically cry.

"You know….this doesn't concern us, Droy. Let's head back" Jet whispered to his team mate as they tiptoed quietly to freedom.

"Hold on, where's Erza?" Lucy realized their scarlet-haired team mate was not present.

"She went somewhere with Jellal, don't know where though".

"A-a-a-alone…with Jellal?" the water mage said as she blushed different shades of red. "Juvia wants that to!" she shouted with hearts in her eyes as she tried to drag Gray along with her.

"You want what?"

'Oh dear…it looks like they haven't gotten anywhere with their relationship yet', the sense-link mage sweat dropped at Juvia's relationship problems. Near the shore of the beach, Erza and Jellal sat in silence on a hill.

"So…you got your memories back, right", Erza started.

"Yeah".

"That means…Simon…"

"I remember. I killed him", the bluenette looked towards the ground.

"What about the Nirvana incident?"

"I remembered that too. I really don't know what to say".

"Can I treat you the same way", Erza asked.

"I would be glad if you would, but if you don't I understand". Silence grew once more between the two. Erza kept eyeing the bluenette with a worried face. "Erza….if you want to take revenge for Simon, I give you permission to do so". The scarlet head hesitated for a few seconds before asking Jellal a question.

"Jellal….why are you still holding that against yourself. I know that it burdens you, but it wasn't your fault. Setting up your own guild to take out the dark guilds and staying with Ultear and Meredy, is it still not enough to redeem your sins?" Erza said softly.

"No…to be honest, I don't think it's possible to redeem myself".

"What?!" Erza's mood changed from calm to rage.

"I feel as if no matter how hard I try, I'll never redeem myself for my past actions", H=he continued as Erza made her way towards him. "Even after I formed Crime Sorciere, I still as if the answer is still beyond my grasp. I often ask myself…why the hell am I doing this for? Then…I came to the conclusions that maybe…everything will be fine if I stay dead".

SLAP!

Erza's hand came across Jellal's face with a hard slap. How could he talk about himself like that? "So you're just going to throw away everything you accomplished" she yelled at the tattooed-faced man.

"I'm not as strong as you".

"So you're just going to give up?!" she yelled even more. "Just because you're not as strong as someone else, means to end your life. Being alive is a sign of strength. How dare you say that to me dammit!", she started to swell up with tears.

"Erza….." Jellal whispered.

"You're not the same Jellal from the before….you're not the young boy who struggled to survive. You're not…..just not", she started to cry.

"You're right but-"

"You bastard! Don't you dare say another word", Erza accidently tripped over a rock and fell into Jellal. Due to the force of the fall, Jellal fell along with Erza and they began to tumble with her. they continued to roll down until they landed on the beach floor.

"Ugh, Erza are you-" the bluenette stopped at mid-sentence as he saw the position both mage were currently in. Due to all that tumbling, he had landed on top of Erza as they both stared into each other's eyes with shock. A bunch of funny looking flowers with faces on their petals began to spit out pollen as both mages bathed in a shower of cotton spores. "You're right, you're always right".

"No, I just struggled to survive, no matter how clumsy I was, that's all", Erza corrected from under the elemental mage.

"Erza…."

"I don't think…..we can see each other after this", the armor mage covered her eyes with her forearm as tears started to roll down her cheek even more.

"I'm sorry…" Jellal apologized.

"I-I-I hate you so much…..Jellal" Erza's voice began to tremble as she cupped the bluenette's face with her hands. Slowly, she started to inch her face towards Jellal's as he did the same. Their lips were closing the gap between the two with every inch, flashbacks of their not-so-happy childhood rose in their minds. Being a slave for a building of a tower wasn't the greatest thing in the world to be, but being able to just be near each other was the only thing that was pushing them forward. A beautiful sunset rested in the background as both mages' lips had connected softly, but the wonderful moment didn't last. The elemental mage pushed Erza away, leaving her in a state of confusion and disappointment. "I can't…" leaving her blushing. "I have a fiancée". Erza's eyes went bulging out of her head as she quickly scooted away from the man.

"Ah…..no…I….ehh….I didn't mean to…" she stuttered as she began flapping her arms up and down.

"Err no…I'm sorry…." Erza looked at the tattooed faced man for a few more seconds until she gave a blissed smile.

"She very important to you isn't she…?" she asked, earning a nod from Jellal.

"I'm sorry, I forgot it's been three years since you escaped".

"No, I'm sorry, Erza. It would be wrong to kiss you like that".

"Yeah. It would upset her right?"

"Yes…but it would be worse….since you still harbor feeling for Natsu", the armor mage's face grew all shades of red, giving the 'oh crap, how did he find out?' face.

"I-I-I don't like him", Erza protested.

"Yes you do" Jellal retorted.

"How can I love someone who more stupid and younger than me?"

"No, he was the same age as you. And what's wrong with loving someone younger than you", the male questioned.

"Nothing, but….." Erza crossed her arms and legs as she tilted her head to her side. "Now that I think about it, how old was Natsu?" she said with a question mark on top of her head. After a few more seconds of thinking, Erza's face grew serious as she asked a question the Jellal was expecting. "Jellal…..do you really think that power you sensed belongs to Natsu still?"

"….Yes"

"How come?"

"Natsu's power is bright and warm. That I know, but…" he paused for a moment before continuing. "That day….in the Tower of Heaven, when we fought…..I felt something, something that didn't feel human. It shook my very soul with fear. I don't know exactly what Natsu has inside of him, but if he wanted to, he could kill anyone of us in a heartbeat." Jellal said as he got to his feet. "let's just hope that we never have to feel it again, and if he is alive, pray it doesn't resurface", with that, he left Erza on the beach floor by herself.

"Natsu….please tell me that isn't true…"

* * *

Later….

Lisanna, who had finished her Second Origin awakening, accompanied Erza on the beach. They stood in front of a small shack that contained the other fairy mages going through the awakening process.

"Ugh, I never want to experience that again", Lisanna shuddered as she hugged herself in memory of the pain she was in.

"Well, it looks like on one came move thanks to you", Erza playfully blamed Ultear.

'How can you not feel anything?' Ultear sweat dropped at Titainia's immune to Pain.

"Due to the nature of our guild, we can't stay in one place. We must mow take our leave", Jellal announced as he put his hood on.

"Good luck with the games. And if you have any information for us, please contact us via carrier", Erza nodded to Meredy's words.

"We must leave now girls. We wish you good luck in the tournament and thank for your assistance". The raven-haired woman put on her hood and turned to Erza.

"Please, take care of Gray. You know how he can be sometimes", the Sorciere mages took their leave. Before completely disappearing, Jellal turned to Lisanna.

"Lisanna".

"Yes?"

"Judging by your reaction about the news about Natsu, I can tell you deeply care for him right?", the platinum beauty nodded softly. "I'm sorry, but there's no going around it. That power belongs to him, no matter what, which can make him a threat".

"Yeah….I know", she sighed deeply.

"But I also know that he cared for you deeply as well and he would never hurt you, regardless of the situation", he assured. A little surprised at first, Lisanna's mood changed quickly and gave a big smile.

"Thank you, Jellal". The trio finally disappeared, leaving both women on the beach alone. "So, you like Natsu too?" she asked Erza.

"N-n-n-no…how can I…wait…how long were you there for?" Erza squealed in embarrassment.

"Right when you guys kissed", Lisanna teased her guild mate. She giggled at her reaction, seeing she got her answer. "Don't worry, I don't blame you for liking him, I mean he grew in quite the man we all knew he would be but…" Lisanna stopped for a moment. "If he was alive right now, I would've killed you first before you got to him", the take-over mage smiled innocently, but gave off a menacing aura that would put both Erza's and Mira's to shame.

"Oh god, she even scares me", Erza trembled before getting lost into her thoughts. Thoughts of Natsu popped in her head for the umpteenth time. She remembered that day, when he rescued her from the Tower of Heaven, carrying her bridal style towards the shore, then scolding her for the stupidity she committed that day. Then, instead of letting her go, she imagined him pinning her down, trapping her between the sandy floor and his well-toned body and giving the deepest kiss any man had ever given to a woman. She would pretend to struggle, acting like she wouldn't want it to happen, but only because she wanted him to hold her down and give her more love. "Natsu, I wish you were here with me", she put a hand to her chest and gave a blissed smile. Despite her want, she was having a big epidemic; she was in love with two men: Natsu and Jellal. Natsu might be gone, but she would never let him go, but Jellal was still alive and kicking, but he was constantly on the move and that wouldn't be good for the child if it ever came to it. Thinking about Jellal made her remember what he said at the beach earlier. "A fiancée, huh", she easily saw through his lie. "You were always a terrible liar, Jellal, but I can't help...but feel happy that it isn't true". She said to herself.

"Erza, Lisanna, look" Happy got the attention of both mages. The Exceed drew a heart broken in half and covered his mouth to stop him from Laughing. Knowing the joke was directed towards her, a tick mark appeared on the scarlet head and conically kick the teasing Exceed up into the air probably into the moon. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Happy", Lisanna screamed as he reached out for her 'son'.

"Don't worry, Lisanna. He'll come down" Erza said to the platinum-haired mage and walked away.

"You...kicked...him..." she muttered with a comical shocked face. The Grand Magic Games were upon of favorite band of mages. Even though they received a power upgrade, they still were not completely satisfied and had agreed to spend the last five days training like there is no tomorrow. Lisanna had looked up at the night sky, wondering if he'll ever see the man of her affection. After hearing the grim news of Natsu having a power stronger and worse than Zeref himself, she felt uneasy about the whole situation. "Natsu, please...if your still alive, come back to me. I want to be in your strong arms once again...and I want to that what Jellal said about you is wrong". Far away from behind a palm tree and out of sight, a man with hood and trench coat watched the young woman from a distance.

"Lisanna, you've sure have grown...haven't you?" he whispered with a thin trail of blood rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry...Natsu hurt you so much, but now...he got what he deserved...to fall into the pits of hell and remain there for all eternity...for all the sins he committed in his past...as well as making you cry for sacrificing himself to stop that bastard, Acnologia", the man walked away, and a symbol of a dragon on the back of his coat shined in the moonlight. He slightly turned his head towards Lisanna direction again, only to be interrupted by a glow that came from then man's pocket. he took it out, revealing a communication Lacrima.

"Yes?"

"Dude, where are you? you were supposed to be here right now". a voice said through the crystal.

"Sorry man. I lost track of time. I'll be there in a minute", the communication disappeared as the man put the Lacrima back in his pocket.

Though life is nothing, but a mind game...we can overcome it...and conquer it". the red clothed man started to walk away. "The time will come when our paths will cross again...until then...sleep well...my beloved tigress". With that the man's body started to fade into a black aura and disappeared into the night.

(To Be Continued...)

* * *

**Um...Wow, I think I went a little too deep in that last part, but hey I love a good tragedy. Anyway, here is the seventh chapter of the story. Sorry I took so long for update, but I had SAT's so I had to take care of that, but I made time to type this chapter. Now that I am here, I'm going to bring some things up, first, the whole Wendy thing, guys she is 19 in my story. I agree that it would be wrong at her original age, but that is why she in 19 here to avoid that problem. Second, I always wondered why do people say Natsu is younger than Erza. I mean, it's not a bad thing, but Natsu's age was never really given and I hope you remember that during the Fantasia arc, Freed's Rune prevented anyone over 80 years from leaving the guild building and Natsu wasn't able to pass. I guess that is one clue to his age. For just some reason, hearing about Natsu's age really annoys me. And last but not least...THE REVIEWS! PLEASE PEOPLE, REVIEW. I LOVE READING WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MY CURRENT PROGRESS. PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE LEAVES REVIEWS. I BEG YOU! Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The Grand Magic Games are nearing, the action is about to start and these mages are not holding back. Well, that's the end for now. Next chapter coming soon. Ja-Ne!**

**-HeartlessAngel96**


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